-
Microfinance Staff Seek Greener Pastures
Mumbai: SKS Microfinance Ltd, India’s largest and only listed microfinance institution (MFI), has seen an exodus of at least 3,000 of its employees in the three months ended 31 March, even as the lender of tiny loans to the poor grapples with large-scale defaults from borrowers in Andhra Pradesh and a rapidly eroding market value. The 12% decline in its employee strength for the March quarter is the sharpest fall the company has seen. SKS is not the only micro-credit lender th...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Grameen Bank to Come Under Bangladesh Bank Supervision
The government plans to bring Grameen Bank (GB) under the direct supervision of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) to be guided by Bank Company Act, 1991. The move, according to official sources, is aimed to establish...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Making Healthcare Affordable, Accessible, and Ubiquitous
A small but growing band of companies wants to make healthcare affordable, accessible, and ubiquitous. Like the larger groups, their services are of a high quality, but costs are kept under a tight leash. With early models starting to scale, social investors are not the only ones being drawn to such companies. For the rich, famous and pregnant living in Hyderabad’s upmarket Jubilee Hills, there is The Cradle, a high-end , luxury ’birthing centre’ recently launched...
- Region
- South Asia
-
(Indian) Venture Funds Race to Raise Fresh Capital
BANGALORE -- Aavishkaar India, an early-stage venture capital firm, will complete raising a $120 million in June for its fourth and largest fund. The size and speed of Aavishkaar’s fund-raising effort -- six months to close a fund -- reflect the hurry venture capitalists are into make new investments, taking a cue from their more active private equity investors. There are at least half a dozen other venture-capital firms that are either raising funds or increasing the size of their ...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Investors Assume the Worst for SKS Microfinance
That SKS Microfinance Ltd will have to write off part of its Andhra Pradesh (AP) loan book is inescapable. If there is any difference of opinion among brokerages, it is just in the matter of degree. Some assume 40% of its AP advances will have to be forgone, while others paint a bleaker picture at 90%. The fourth quarter (Q4) results of the firm make for grim reading, with falling net interest income, spreads and return on assets. Not only did SKS lose Rs. 70 crore, its collec...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Yunus loses final appeal against dismissal
Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a final appeal by "banker to the poor" Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus against his dismissal as managing director of Grameen Bank, the micro-lender he founded. A government probe last month cleared Grameen of financial irregularities, but the finding did not change the decision to fire him. Yunus, 70, was dismissed on the grounds that he had overstayed his position and refused requests to quit. [ID:nSGE73401G] The official retireme...
- Region
- South Asia
-
A Look at Three Models of Philanthro-Capitalism
A market based approach to philanthropy, with one eye firmly on the bottom line, can be an effective way for entrepreneurs to meet their social goals. take a close look at three such models of philanthro-capitalism. ...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Sachet King Moves to Shed Regional Tag
Chinni Krishnan Ranganathan is best known for selling shampoo in 50-paise sachets in the seventies - almost a decade before multinational competitors such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble woke up to the huge potential in India’s bottom of the pyramid market. But CavinKare’s Chairman and Managing Director has many others firsts to his credit, enhancing his reputation as somebody who is super-fast in spotting new opportunities. So when sachet became commoditised, Ranganathan t...
- Region
- South Asia