Introduction

The Centre Microfinance is proud to present the third annual online Map of Microfinance. The Map of Microfinance is a collaborative effort between the Centre for Microfinance, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and participating MFIs to comprehensively map MFI outreach throughout India.

The map allows users to view stats on MFI presence, outreach, and overall penetration on a district by district basis for all of India for the past three years. The map also includes data on SHG membership on a district by district basis for years 2005 and 2006 (district-wise data on SHG membership was not available for the year 2007).

To view an individual map, simply select the year for which the map should be created, the information to be displayed on the map, and the state for which you would like the map to be created.

The interactive map is best viewed in full screen mode. To switch to full screen mode in Internet Explorer or Firefox press F11.

For more details on how individual statistics were generated and data was collected please see the section on methodology below.

Methodology

The CMF collected data on the number of active borrowers, number of women active borrowers, and total loans outstanding as of March end for the past three years for several of India 's largest MFIs. The CMF targeted the top twenty MFIs (ten in the first year of the exercise), as measured by total number of active borrowers, for data collection but data was accepted from all MFIs willing to provide it. Table 1 lists the MFIs which provided data in each of the three years. Sixteen out of the top twenty MFIs along with an additional seven MFIs not among the top twenty reported data for both 2006 and 2007. Two MFIs – Share and Asmitha – provided data in 2005 but not in 2006 or 2007. Client numbers for these two MFIs in years 2006 and 2007 have been estimated based on information reported in 2005 and assuming a constant growth rate in all areas equal to the overall growth rate of the two MFIs. Altogether, the combined client base of these MFIs represent almost 90% of the total number of micro-credit clients of the top 40 MFIs in India .

Out of those MFIs which shared data in 2006 and 2007, all but three of the MFIs (BISWA, KAS, and Spandana) reported data branch-wise. This allowed us to compute the total number of MFI branches along with the change in the total number of MFI branches from 2006 to 2007 for these MFIs. It should be noted that BISWA, KAS, and Spandana branches are not included in these totals.

As there is no law or regulation in India requiring organisations which provide micro-credit to formally register as microfinance institutions it is impossible to assess the share of the total market for micro-credit loans these MFIs together represent. Some observers estimate that there may be as many as 800 organisations currently providing micro-credit services in India . (Ghate, 2006) Yet, anecdotal accounts from practitioners strongly suggest that while there are a large number of organisations engaged in micro-credit activities, most of these micro-lenders are extremely small and together make up only a small portion of the overall micro-credit market. The steep drop-off in client numbers after the ten largest MFIs lends credence to this claim. Table 2 lists the 40 largest MFIs in India , as measured by total number of active clients, along with whether or not data for the MFI is included in the dataset.

In some sections of the report, data on MFI presence is complemented with data on female population and SHG membership. District-wise statistics on female population have been estimated based on the most recent (2001) census assuming a constant gender ratio equal to that of the surrounding state in 2001 and an overall population growth rate for each district equal to that of the previous decade. Yearly SHG membership statistics have been estimated based on the total number of SHGs which have received a bank loan in each year as reported by NABARD assuming 15 members per SHG. District-wise SHG statistics were made available by NABARD in 2005 and 2006 but not in 2007.

Throughout the report, MFI penetration has been calculated based on total number of active borrowers of all MFIs combined divided by the estimated female population. It should be noted that this may slightly overstate actual penetration levels, especially in areas with high levels of competition, as there may be some overlap in borrowers between different MFIs and SHGs. In addition, not all microfinance borrowers are women.

Table 1: MFIs Which Contributed Data to the Map of Microfinance Project

Table 2: Top 40 India MFIs by Number of Active Borrowers

* Out of the 23 MFIs which contributed data, 4 – BSFL, LEAD, Mann Deshi, Sharda, and SKDRP – do not rank among the 40 largest MFIs in India.

** As reported by MIX Market.