Centre for Micro Finance

Over the past few years, Indian microfinance has witnessed unprecedented growth. In fiscal year 2006 alone, the number of new microfinance clients grew by an approximate 60% and the amount of total loans outstanding to microfinance clients grew by 81%. In addition, many microfinance institutions have begun to offer new products such as health and life insurance and to experiment with new technology such as mobile phones and point of sale devices. Yet critical gaps remain in our knowledge of how to most efficiently deliver microfinance services and how microfinance can best be used as a tool to fight poverty. The Centre for Micro Finance (CMF) was established in 2005 to help fill these gaps. The mission of the Centre is to improve the accessibility and quality of financial services for the poor through rigorous research, knowledge dissemination and evidence-based policy outreach.