MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Human Welfare Foundation to Offer Interest-Free Microfinance Loans in India

The Human Welfare Foundation (HWF), an educational institute in India, will provide interest-free microloans across the country, according to a statement attributed to the foundation’s vice president, Professor K A Siddique Hassan. The project is part of an initiative entitled Vision 2016, through which HWF and 50 affiliate non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been implementing approximately 125 projects in 20 Indian states as part of a network to promote poverty alleviation, particularly among Muslims.

In concert with HWF, a second NGO, Sahulat Microfinance Society, also plans to provide interest-free loans. As part of the Vision 2016 project launched in 2009, a total of 500 microfinance institutions (MFIs) are to be established throughout the country.

The budget available for the effort has not been disclosed.

By Charlotte Newman, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources:

Times of India: “Interest-free Microfinance Hope for Poor Muslims,” http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-11/hyderabad/31144960_1_interest-free-loans-interest-rates-muslims

Vision 2016: “Microfinance,” http://www.vision2016.org.in/vision2016_microfinance.php

MicroCapital.org story, August 12, 2009, “MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Basix Chairman Vijay Mahajan Advocates the Use of Interest-Free Microfinance and Islamic Finance Techniques to Help Muslim Clients in Small Communities in India,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapitalorg-story-basix-chairman-vijay-mahajan-advocates-the-use-of-interest-free-microfinance-and-islamic-finance-techniques-to-help-muslim-clients-in-small-communities-in-india/

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