This report presents insights from a study that assesses the impact of an SHG based microfinance model on the overall well-being of low-income households in terms of household’s investment capacity and consumption, occupation and income profiles, women’s bargaining power within … Read More
Publications
Landscape of Crop and Livestock Insurance in India
This brief presents an overview of findings from a detailed landscape assessment of agricultural insurance in India, with a focus on crop and livestock insurance. It provides an insight into the current landscape of products available in the sector, and … Read More
Nurse and Physician Reflections on the Application of a Quality Standards Training Program to Reduce Maternal Mortality
Low and middle income countries are characterised by high rates of maternal mortality, in spite of a rise in facility-supported births. This warrants a need to assess the quality of maternal care. The current study evaluated provider perspectives on teaching … Read More
Understanding the Impact of Demonetization on Bank Account Holders from Low Income Households
This study, conducted by IFMR LEAD, attempts to contribute to the ongoing debate of the short and long-term effects of demonetization on low income households who while formally banked, are among the most prone to adverse effects of demonetization policy, … Read More
Study to Test Incentives for Onboarding Merchants and Consumers
The brief presents findings from a study that tested the awareness of digital payments systems and the efficacy of different government incentive schemes in promoting adoption and usage of payment platforms.
Gen-Next Chit Funds – From Dusty Dabbas to Digital Khaatas
Catalyst partnered with Kyepot technologies to study how informal chit funds or Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCAs) can be digitized and graduated to a formal platform. This field story captures Farida ben’s experience of transitioning her traditional chit fund … Read More
Enroute Lakshya – Power of Savings to Meet Unending Possibilities
This field story captures insights from an initiative to expand access to formal savings accounts for low-income communities as part of Catalyst’s Incubator Initiative. Kaleidofin, a startup that was part of the first cohort of the program, seeks to empower … Read More
Financing Smallholder Agriculture: An Experiment with Agent-Intermediated Microloans in India
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
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
This report presents findings from a study on the performance of models for individual lending in microfinance, conducted in Mysore and Allahabad.