India

By 2013, with the help of our commercial partners and philanthropists that support our work, we envision that, 100 million poor people in India will have access to a full range of financial services and technologies that will progress them out of poverty. 

• India is home to one third of the world’s poor, who make up 42 percent of the more than one billion Indian people.
• Out of India's population, 76 percent—800 million people—live below the poverty line of $2.50 a day. 
• About 87 percent of poor rural farmers still do not have access to formal credit. Although Indian MFIs reach an impressive 15 million borrowers, total demand estimates are more than 90 million poor.

While poverty is a huge problem, great strides have been made in recent years to make microfinance and technology available to poor people in India. But still a vast majority of the population still remains without the vital financial services to help support micro-businesses that will greatly assist them, their families, and their communities in the fight against poverty. 

Because Grameen Foundation has been operating in India since 2000, we have developed a rich and deep understanding of the Indian poverty situation.  We have provided financial and technical support to some of the leading and fastest-growing institutions in the country.  As of March 2009, Grameen Foundation’s microfinance institution (MFI) partners in India are reaching over 6.7 million clients. Beyond partner support, we have provided important training and services to the Indian microfinance industry as a whole:

• We helped Indian MFIs leverage more than $78 million in from local banks through our innovative guarantee, loan, and grant programs.
• We established Grameen Capital India, a joint venture with IFMR Trust and Citigroup, that increases MFI’s access to significant low-cost capital.
• We provided exposure to international best practices and facilitated peer-learning experiences to enhance management activities at MFIs. 

Grameen Foundation works to make microfinance more inclusive to the poor and poorest in India by: 1) advancing access to microfinance and technology in the underserved and unserved regions of the country; 2) changing mindsets about the role microfinance and technology; 3) Returning the focus to social performance; and 4) providing financial and technical support to emerging institutions that are working in poorest districts of India through products like catalytic debt finance, guarantees, human capital management, and technology.


Local Partners in the Fight against Poverty in India
Grameen Foundation collaborates with local people and organizations to make an impact on poverty in India, magnifying our impact:

MFIs

• CASHPOR/Cashpor Financial and Technical Services
• Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF)
• Grameen Koota
• Sonata Finance Pvt. Limited

National/Regional Networks

• ACCESS Development Services
• Association of Karnataka Microfinance Institutions (AKMI)

Lenders/Investors

• Dia Vikas
• Michael and Susan Dell Foundation