The underlying question that we should be asking in AP is why indebted households are driven to suicide in the first place. This question is much more complex than simply placing blame on MFIs alone. Rather, debt-induced suicide has long been a problem in AP. Blame that has traditionally been placed on moneylenders has now shifted to MFIs without recognizing that the origin of the problem remains the same: inadequate access to flexible, affordable finance that can help households deal with unpredictable income shocks. Although microfinance is one channel to affordable finance (if implemented properly), savings and insurance are necessary components as well.…To write off private microfinance entirely without doing so ignores the very complex credit needs of the poor.”
the courage to admit to failure.