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Kolkata, 7 August 2024: Association of Microfinance Institutions – West Bengal (AMFI-WB), a State Level Federation of Microfinance Institutions in West Bengal, organized the State Lenders’ Meet for Microfinance Industry in Kolkata on Wednesday.
The Bankers Meet was a great forum to discuss partnerships, tie-up and discuss on the opportunities that have opened-up through newer regulations, digital technology, newer models of funding for financial inclusion. Besides highlighting the services of the Microfinance and Banking sector, the conference also created awareness about the industry and its stakeholders through discussions at the Lenders’ meet.
Mr. Jiji Mammen, ED, Sa-Dhan, Ms. Usha Ramesh, CGM, NABARD along with representatives and members of AMFI-WB were present at the conference. The GM and DGM of SIDBI also were present in the Meet. The Chairman, MFIN and Chairperson, AMFI-WB also will join the session.
The participant Banks for the Lenders’ Meet included: IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, DCB Bank, SBM Bank, Central Bank of India, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Punjab & Sind Bank, City Union Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, Bank of Baroda, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, State Bank of India, Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank, Bandhan Bank, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, among others.
Microfinance Sector has always been at the forefront of promoting inclusive growth through microfinance focusing on the underserved, mainly women, ensuring positive change in their economic status as also improving their quality of life through income enhancement and other socially relevant interventions. Thereby, the sector has an important role in supporting and building the unorganized sector, creating employment opportunities and contributing significantly to the nation’s GDP.
Since the focus is majorly on funding women, it also plays an important role in women empowerment. Microfinance also champions gender equality by providing women with access to financial services. As a catalyst for change, microfinance intertwines financial empowerment with social empowerment, paving the way towards a more inclusive and sustainable future.
Microfinance sector has been playing a significant role since pandemic in supporting the base of the pyramid to bring back normalization. This has been through restructuring of loans, relief on interest and principle. The sector continued to provide funding support to rehabilitate their business and bring them back to normalization.
The sector has also displayed its strong resilience and continued to honour payment commitments to all its stakeholders, despite serious headwinds post pandemic. The Government and Regulators, during and post-pandemic, created an enabling environment through various positive policy interventions that includes RBI’s revised regulatory framework, Government Guaranteed funding, interest subvention making the sector stronger.
With the present collections and portfolio quality reaching normal levels, the sector is now focusing on responsible growth. The sector’s demand for funding too increasing as the clients served are looking for business growth and thereby further microcredit. With RBI allowing newer avenues/models of funding, besides the existing BC partnership model, the Co-Lending model, newer opportunities for Bank/Microfinance entities have opened-up. This is besides the Lending, securitization and all other existing funding models.
The Association of Micro Finance Institutions – West Bengal (AMFI – WB) is an institution which endeavors to promote and develop microfinance in the state of West Bengal. It was formed to deliver better services to the poor, thereby helping these populations improve their standards of living. The mission of AMFI-WB is to build a fair and congenial environment for community development financing in West Bengal helping members to serve their target clients, particularly women from financially underserved families in pursuit of sustainable livelihood, both in rural and urban area. AMFI – WB currently caters to around 79 lakh poor women by providing them with financial services, especially micro credit. With a membership of over 48 Micro Finance Institutions, Banks, Fintechs, Insurances, Health Service Providers, and Software Companies etc., approximately 33000 employees hail from lower economic background. AMFI-WB regularly conducts stakeholder meets at the district level, management development programs for its members, microfinance industry-related seminars & workshops, and member meetings on matters of mutual interest.