Author Archives: admin

On MSME Day, Recognizing the Potential of Small Businesses in the Indian Economy

Kanika Joshi

Small businesses are often hubs of entrepreneurship, employment and innovation, thereby playing a crucial role in the socio-economic development of any nation. In a much appreciated move, the United Nations (UN) general assembly on recently designated 27 June as Micro, … Read More

PRICE-Catalyst Research Round Table

Catalyst engaged sector experts in a roundtable discussion to provide inputs on two key Catalyst research initiatives. … Read More

Round Table with Government of Rajasthan & Solution Partners

Catalyst held roundtable discussions with the Government of Rajasthan and solution partners to address the commencement & progress of Catalyst’s Digital Payments Lab Operations in Jaipur. … Read More

Financing Smallholder Agriculture: An Experiment with Agent-Intermediated Microloans in India

Pushkar Maitra, Sandip Mitra, Dilip Mookherjee, Alberto Motta, Sujata Visaria

In this paper, the authors explore the hypothesis that traditional joint-liability microfinance programs fail to increase borrower incomes in part because they cannot screen out unproductive borrowers. In randomly selected villages in West Bengal, India, a study was implemented in … Read More

Doubling Farmers’ Incomes: Strategies and Recommendations for Tamil Nadu

Ajay Tannirkulam, Suraj R Nair, Divya Mary

This report presents findings from a study that seeks to understand current income levels of farmers in the state, and understand the necessary actions and focus areas that needs to be prioritised. This also provides an opportunity to assess strategies … Read More

Performance of Models for Lending to Individuals in the Microfinance Sector

IFMR LEAD

This report presents findings from a study on the performance of models for individual lending in microfinance, conducted in Mysore and Allahabad.

Agents of Change: How the Human Touch is Bringing Digital Financial Services to New Customers in India

Shreya Chatterjee, Misha Sharma

In this report, the authors evaluate the factors currently shaping the adoption of digital financial services by emerging consumers in India and assess the crucial role that frontline banking agents play in helping to successfully transition their clients to digital … Read More

Evolving Financial Ecosystem for Micro-Merchants in India

Anisha Singh, Suraj Nair, Parul Agarwal

The digital revolution in India is well underway and there is a need to understand the adoption and usage of digital platforms on the ground. This report presents findings from a study of micro-merchants conducted in five cities: Jaipur, Kanpur, … Read More

Technology for Financial Inclusion: Repository of Technology Service Providers

Anisha Singh, Prachi Agarwal, Parul Agarwal

This report captures lessons from a landscaping study on digital financial services in India and includes a repository of technology service providers operating across different sectors.

Microfinance Institutions and Digitization in India

Anisha Singh, Prachi Agarwal, Parul Agarwal

In this handbook, we bring forth perspectives from consumers – those who are at the receiving end of digital financial inclusion. We profile 12 categories of consumers based on gender, region of work (rural/ urban) and age group, and highlight … Read More