Financial services for India’s poor are limited. Micro-finance services cover only between two and three percent of the country’s poor. Social bias and the lack of access to assets, skills, information and resources exacerbate the problem for women. Nonetheless, existing micro-finance organizations have made great strides in expanding opportunities to targeted communities – particularly poor women. With improved implementation and strengthened capacity, these institutions have the potential to extend their services to a greater portion of India’s poor.

USAID works with Friends of Women’s World Banking to improve Indian micro-finance institutions’ ability to serve the country’s poor women. Working with existing micro-finance institutions and local self-help groups, the project:

• Helps strengthen the institutional operations of local micro-finance organizations;
• Assists in the development of new financial products specifically targeted toward women, their borrowing needs and repayment capacity;
• Promotes micro-finance friendly policy initiatives and standards at various government levels; and
• Enhances institutions’ ability to conduct outreach to communities.