Tag: innovation

Unitus, Inc. announces funding for four microfinance innovations projects

May 1, 2011 Update

Unitus, Inc. has provided $227,000 to fund four innovative microfinance pilot projects at leading India MFIs As part of Unitus Inc.’s commitment to fulfill existing Microfinance Acceleration commitments, we are pleased to announce USD$227,000 funding of four innovation projects at leading India microfinance institutions (MFIs). We believe that these initiatives will help improve microfinance operations by creating robust… Read more >

Equitas Program Empowers the Differently Abled

May 1, 2010 Update

Believing a physical challenge should not automatically create a financial one, Indian partner Equitas launched a program in late 2008 to encourage participation by the differently abled in local microfinance activities. A year later, after putting aside traditional notions of their role in their communities, a representative sample of differently abled Equitas members in Chennai… Read more >

New Frontiers in Microfinance: Mobile Banking

May 1, 2010 Update

Devin Erhardt (Manager, Global Programs) focuses on relationship management and consulting for Unitus. In recent months, she has been exploring new strategies for reaching poor, rural populations in the developing world who cannot access formal financial services. So, what is “mobile banking”?Mobile banking can describe many things, but primarily it means financial services—deposits, withdrawals, payments,… Read more >

Interview with Samit Ghosh, Microfinance Innovator

February 1, 2010 Update

Ujjivan, a Unitus partner since 2006, is an MFI providing financial services to the economically active urban and semi-urban poor in India. Since their launch in November 2005, they’ve reached more than 550,000 clients with a diverse range of financial products and services. In October 2009, Unitus sat down with Mr. Samit Ghosh, founder and… Read more >

Innovation in Action: Equitas

September 1, 2009 Update

A Unitus partner since September 2007, Equitas based in Chennai, India, is one of the fastest-growing MFIs in India. In just over 20 months of operations, the young MFI has reached more than 500,000 clients. The bedrock of Equitas’s scalability is its approach of delivering efficient back-office support to its branch teams. Equitas has established a… Read more >

Financial Literacy for the Working Poor

June 1, 2009 Update

Swadhaar FinAccess was founded with the goal of providing the urban poor in Mumbai increased access to regular, reliable, and efficient financial services in a sustainable and scalable manner, and became a Unitus partner in 2006. In 2008, the organization launched Swadhaar FinServe Pvt. Ltd.—an NBFC (Non-Banking Financial Company)—to take over microfinance operations, which has… Read more >

Unitus Partner MBK Ventura Ranked Top-Performing MFI by MIX

January 1, 2009 Update

In December, MIX (Microfinance Information Exchange, Inc.) released the 2008 MIX Global 100 Composite, its annual report ranking the top 100 MFIs throughout the developing world. The report analyzes and ranks MFI performance based on 2007 data. Four Unitus partners were recognized: MBK Ventura was named the top-performing MFI for the year, while SKS, AMK, and Grameen Koota ranked… Read more >