The nineteen awardees of the Royal Bank of Scotland and PlaNet Finance India’s Microfinance Process Excellence Awards were announced recently at a conference in Delhi. They were the third annual awards and the winners for the awards were selected from a pool of 67 nominees, which were shortlisted after receiving applications from the initial pool of applicants. The award winners were announced at the Microfinance India Summit 2008, held Nov. 11th to 13th in New Delhi. National winners for the three categories of awards were Nirantara Community Services, Arohan, and Sanghamithra.
The Microfinance Process Excellence Awards are divided into categories according to the size of the MFIs. The Flint award nominees are young and emerging institutions, the Flame are for mid-sized established MFIs that are preparing for a rapid growth phase and the Fire category is for large, established institutions that setting standards in the Indian microfinance industry. These awards are awarded to MFIs in each of the five geographical regions, North, South, East, West and North East, and while there is also a National Award for each category. Additionally, one winner from previous years is eligible for the Special Recognition Award.
The jury for this award was composed of people such as Vijayalakshmi Das (CEO, Friends of Women’s World Banking), Sandip Ghose (Principal, College of Agricultural Banking), Sandeep Farias (Managing Director, Unitus Equity Fund), MS Sriram (Professor, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad), Matthew Titus (Executive Director, Sa-Dhan), KC Ranjani (CEO, DIA Vikas Capital, Opportunity International), Tony Fernandes (Regional Head for Credit Programmes, CORDAID) and Meera H Sanyal (Country Executive Designate at RBS India).
Nirantara Community Services is an MFI which was created in 2006 in Karnataka, India. They replicate the Grameen Bank System with local modifications in order to achieve their mission, which is to serve the underprivileged through the provision of socio-economic services, namely microfinance. Nirantara anticipates expanding to Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Guarat over the next five years. At the end of 2007 Nirantara reported total assets of USD 26,413 with a return on equity of 240.48 percent. They also reported having 30 active borrowers. It should be noted that Nirantara Community Services was created at the end of 2006 and so the data reported to the MIX Market reflects information reported within its first year of operating.
Arohan is a for-profit entity incorporated as a Non Banking Finance Company under the Companies Act of 1956. Arohan was created in 2006 and its formal name is ANG Resources Ltd. Arohan operates out of Kolkata and works throughout the West Bengal area. Arohan’s mission is to provide financial services to socio-economically disadvantaged sections to enable them achieve a higher quality of life. In March 2008 Arohan reported total assets of USD 4.0 million with a debt-equity ratio of 227.8 percent. It reported having over 34,000 active borrowers, 99 percent of borrowers being women.
Sanghamithra is an MFI which was conceived by MYRADA to be created as an MFI with linkages to MYRADA’s Self-Help Affinity Groups (SAGs). It was operationalized through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Developpement International Desjardins (DID) in 1999 and was incorporated in 2000. Sanghamithra reported total assets of USD 12.1 million with a debt to equity ratio of 645 percent in March, 2008. It has over 120 thousand active borrowers and 84 personnel.
The PlaNet Finance Group is a non-governmental institution (NGO) established in 1998 in Paris,France and has a history rooted in microfinance services including technical assistance and advisory, rating, funding, investment, micro-insurance and micro venture capital. PlaNet Finance Group has supported 1,500 microfinance institutions and financed more than 30 million microentrepreneurs. It reports to the MIX Market, the microfinance information clearinghouse and is active in more than 60 countries with an international network of 38 offices in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Middle East. Its assets were reported as USD 407,129 as of 2005, with USD 380,658 allocated towards microfinance investments.
By Lori Curtis, Research Assistant
Additional Reading:
Afaqs: “RBS announces the winners for the 3rd Microfinance Process Excellence Awards 2008“
Microfinance India Summit 2008: “Home“
Microfinance Process Excellence Awards: “Home” “Awards“
MIX Market: “Profile of Nirantara Community Services” “Profile of Arohan” “Profile of Sanghamithra Rural Financial Services“
Money Control: “RBS with Planet Finance launches 3rd Microfinance Awards“
Nirantara Community Services: “Home” “About Us“
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Arohan of India Raises $11m in Equity from FMO to Expand Microfinance, Including via Technology
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Al-Qutaibi Funding Renewable Energy Products, Climate Adaptation Strategies for SMEs, Farmers in Yemen in Collaboration with USAID
- SPECIAL REPORT: Banco FIE of Bolivia Takes $100k “Financial Inclusion that Works for Women” European Microfinance Award 2022
- MICROFINANCE EVENT: Financial Inclusion That Works for Women; March 2, 2023; London, UK
- MICROFINANCE EVENT: 5th Global Takaful and Re-takaful Forum; September 19-21, 2023; Dubai, UAE
