Recently I had the chance to attend for the first time the Microfinance India Summit that took place in New Delhi on Oct 26 and 27. It was moving to see many of the sector’s finest throughout India brought together in one place. Interacting with all these MFIs, who demonstrated a continued need for technology-enabled outreach, was an invigorating way to kick off my trip throughout India that will take me to a number of MFIs who are in need of a complete technology management solution.

While staffing our booth, I must say I was astounded at the overwhelming interest shown by all the organizations that stopped by. Of all the conferences I’ve attended in the past, this was the most genuine and enthusiastic interest I’ve experienced. I was kept on my feet at all times and happy to share with everyone how to deploy Mifos through the community. We’ve got some great community traction being made throughout India led by MFIs like ASOMI and Adhikar, along with SunGard who is actively developing and supporting our product. Read more about this in our community deployment guide (.pdf).

Other highlights from the Summit included reading the 2009 State of the Sector Report and the industry’s staggering growth, even amidst the global financial crisis. I was also pleased to see the report feature Mifos as one of the most flexible and accessible technology solutions in the region.
My colleague, Nigel Biggar, Director of Grameen Foundation’s Social Performance Management Center, lead an engaging panel on the need to effectively monitor and document the social impact of microfinance on uplifting the poor. Suresh Krishna, Managing Director of Grameen Koota, recounted his experiences using the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI™) and how technology will help him analyze these results to deliver more targeted outreach to the poor.

I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks I’ll spend in India, meeting with some of the top MFIs, helping to better understand how Grameen Foundation can help them use technology strategically to advance both their business and social goals.

Posted by Craig Chelius, Mifos Global Sales Advisor.