Top NBFC and MFI Associations in India

With the growing influence of the middle class and ease of lending norms, there have been

many NBFC and MFI institutions that have come up in order to advance loans to the general

consumers as well as the business community. In order to ensure that these institutions function

well and thrive collectively, there are a number of NBFC and MFI associations that have been

established for this purpose.

Here is a look at some well-known associations and their activities

LIST OF NBFCs

1 – ​FIDC

The association works towards framing a model of conduct for the finance industry. The

association seeks to ensure the strategic and healthy growth of NBFCs in India. It makes sure

that the participating members function effectively as a part of the financial system. The
association also serves to protect customers’ interest and to resolve grievances of the

members.

It held the ​Real Estate and Infra Investors’ summit 2018​. It covered topics like current trends

and scenario in Indian Real Estate Investment, Integrated city development and cost financing

in affordable housing. This summit had featured exclusive opportunities for investors to

pre-schedule their private discussions with development partners. An aim of that event was to

improve the confidence level of lenders, investors and consumers by bringing in professional

and ethical practices. This summit had improved the focus on cross-border real estate

investment.

2 – ​Association of Gold Loan Companies (India)

The Association of Gold Loan Companies

(India) is a non-profitable organization and was established with an intention to work for the

welfare and benefit of the member companies.

The main objectives and aims of this association are to organize seminars, to collect data, and

to conduct surveys on the working of Gold loan financing companies in other countries. It

currently has 7 members.

3 – ​NBFC-P2P lending

This association is set up to promote the practice of alternate lending mechanisms in the

country via P2P lending. The association is established with the goal to make the NBFC-P2P

lending channel more credible and widespread across India. It also strives to build a unified

workforce that works towards this goal.

4 – ​DLAI

Digital Lenders Association of India was established in November 2016 with an aim to bring

digital lenders and its players under one roof which would help the ecosystem to grow and

flourish. DLAI is run by a management committee which is elected every year. Its main

objectives are to develop and support the digital lending industry. It has 9 founding members

and 22 general members.

The DLAI‘s Fintech Conference – ​Financial Inclusion 2.0​ is India’s largest Fintech Conference

which was held at Taj Lands End. It included talks on various topics which ranged from how to

make flow based lending effective in India to How to build an effective Fintech company. It also

included talks on the current state of Indian Fintech landscape. They had a great networking

session for the attendees. They also have an upcoming event in December 2018 named

Kickstarting Start-Ups.

LIST OF MICROFINANCE ASSOCIATIONS AND NETWORKS

1 – Microfinance Institutions Network India

It was created in October 2009 to promote the key objectives of microfinance and financial

inclusion for all classes of people. It helps economically underprivileged communities to achieve

greater financial independence and build sustainable livelihoods. It works towards the robust

development of the microfinance sector, by promoting responsible lending, client protection, and

a supportive regulatory environment.

MFIN hosted MFIN Awards 2018 in recognition of excellence in the microfinance and

small-scale lending sector. The event was attended by different institutions like NFBCs, Fintech

& telecoms, banks, clean energy. They also had two day SRO workshop on “Self-Regulation

and Compliance” in 2017. MFIN had the second edition of Associates Round Table in 2017.

2 – Sa-Dhan – The Association of Community Development Finance Institutions

Sa-Dhan the Association of Community Development Finance Institution was founded in 1998.

Its main objective is

to help its members and associated institutions to better serve the low-income households. This
would especially cover women in rural and urban India for establishing a stable livelihood and

improving the quality of life.

The ​Sa-Dhan National Conference​ was held on 19​th​ & 20​th​ September 2018 in New Delhi. The

theme for the conference was “propelling the growth of the Informal Sector through

Microfinance.” It provided a unique platform for information sharing, dialogue & deliberation

around financial inclusion. The conference saw eminent speakers from the Government, RBI

and NHB gracing the event.

3 – AKMI – MFI’s in Karnataka

The Association of Karnataka MFI’s was established in 2007. Its main focus is to bring better

transparency and governance, client protection and ethical practices among the MFIs. It has 27

MFI members as on 31​st​ March 2017. AKMI is registered under society Act 1960. The core

values of this association are Integrity, Fair Practices, Transparency and Quality of Services.

4 – Banking with the Poor Network

The Banking with the Poor Network is Asia’s microfinance network of organisations established

in 1990. The main objective of BWTP is to improve the quality of life of the poor through

promoting and facilitating their access to sustainable financial services. They fulfil this mission

through information sharing, knowledge creation and policy advocacy.

BWTP hosted an event – the Mekong Inclusive Growth Forum in October 2018. It was an

initiative of FDC, BWTP and APEC Business Advisory Council, in partnership with ADA,

GMSR-BC and the Fiscal Policy Office of Thailand’s Ministry of Finance. The main objectives for

the event were to identify knowledge gaps and to increase levels of understating among

government officials on critical issues.

5 – South Asian Microfinance Network

The SAMN was asset up in 2008 and has a primary aim to bring together 8 MFIs and put

together a framework in place for coordinating and enabling regional dialogue between the

participating MFIs. These members together cater to the business needs of 60 million clients

spread in 6 countries in South Asia.

The SAMN has organized the 2018 edition of the ​South Asian Regional Micro Finance

Conference​. The event was graced by 150 foreign delegates and 150 local delegates. It also

saw 70 renowned speakers from South Asia, Europe, and USA. Before this, it had concluded

the 2014 and 2016 edition of the conferences too in the past.

6 – ​ACCION Network

ACCION promotes financial inclusion at all levels. Their aim to let the financial deserving get a

chance to have a sustainable livelihood. They perform various functions like advisory services

(combining tech with MFI frameworks), investment (in companies that drive microfinance to

reach more number of deserving candidates), partnership (to develop new markets for

microfinance penetration) and thought leadership activities.

It will be holding the Inclusive Finance India summit on 11 and 12​th​ December 2018 at New

Delhi. The board areas to be covered include modern day issues around financial inclusion,

financial education, and financial stability.

7 – India Collective for Microfinance

The ICMF is a national level network created to coordinate activities in the field of microfinance.

All participants from governmental, non-governments, banks, donor agencies and research

agencies come together with one aim – to alleviate poverty with the use of microfinance to help

poor people get access to credit. It takes steps to eliminate obstacles that come in the way of

meeting these objectives.

Formed in 1997, the association is fully committed to spreading the outreach of microfinance

and make it conveniently accessible to deserving entrepreneurs and small-scale business

owners. 11 members make up the association and work collectively towards collating and

disseminating information and best practices that are framed within the regulatory framework

and the association’s targets to improve penetration of microfinance into the rural parts of the

nation. This way grass root level organizations can comprehend the importance of microfinance

and ensure better coverage across India.

8 – ​International Network of Alternative Financial Institutions

INAFI supports the endeavours of microfinance companies operating in Asia, Latin America,

Africa, and Eastern Europe. It has 150 member organizations spanning four continents. All

members are in the microfinance domain – i.e. providing financial services to the poor. It

promotes self-regulated and affordable microfinance to the poor so that they can get access to

credit for earning the livelihood. INAFI members’ common mission is to make a contribution

towards the elimination of poverty. It aims to do this by granting efficient credit, savings and

capacity/skill building services to deserving people, especially women.