The Centre for Micro Finance (CMF) in partnership with the College of Agricultural Banking – Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Pune, India organized a conference on microfinance on January 18th 2008. Researchers, practitioners, bankers shared results from various experiments they have conducted that have led or could lead to improvements in microfinance programmes or policies. The conference provided a platform for microfinance practitioners, bankers and policy makers involved in the sector to learn from field experiments, discuss policy implications and develop a complementary policy framework. The conference also helped to identify areas for further research and experimentation of relevance to both practitioners and policy makers

Over three sessions, original research findings were presented on issues of product design, challenges in offering innovative financial and non-financial services with micro-credit, and emerging issues in the microfinance sector. Some of the projects showcased by academics from J-PAL working closely with researchers at CMF include recommendations from experiments with loan repayment schedules in the state of West Bengal, impact of business training on microfinance clients in Gujarat, the nature of small businesses in urban slums in Hyderabad, and research on interest rates and competition.

Leading practitioners of microfinance in India presented their experiences with innovations in developing tailor-made products for their clients. From their extensive experience in programme implementation, they also spoke about challenges and emerging issues in the sector, especially those affecting scaling up of existing operations. Senior bankers and faculty members from the College for Agricultural Banking (CAB) provided feedback and insights from a regulatory perspective.
CMF and CAB propose to collaborate to make the conference on microfinance as an annual event so that efforts in the direction of research questions being derived from practice and the outcomes thereof influencing policy and practice can be sustained.

Download notes, powerpoints, and other materials from the conference below:

• Conference Proceedings and Presentation Summaries
• Emerging Issues in Microfinance, Sendhil Mulanaithan
• Microfinance and the Market, Jonathan Morduch [Presentation]
• Improving Businesses: Product Design and Additional Services, Rohini Pande [Presentation]
• A Snapshot of Small Businesses in Hyderabad: Results from a Large Scale Survey, Abhijit Banerjee [Presentation]
• Health Insurance: Opportunities and Challenges, Esther Duflo [Presentation]
• Competition in Indian Microfinance Sector, Doug Johnson [Presentation]
• Targeting the Hard-Core Poor in West Bengal, Raghab Chattopadhyay [Presentation]
• Micro-Pensions, Jayshree Vyas [Presentation]
• Micro-remittances, MD Amin