ACCESS Microfinance Alliance (AMA)

ACCESS has established the ACCESS Microfinance Alliance (AMA) as a strategic initiative to bring together microfinance institutions as a collective.

Objective of AMA:

AMA will work to address key issues of the institutions committed to the sector and help them in enhancing operations in order to assist the poor in accessing microfinance services.

AMA’s key agenda is as follows: 

1.          Provide structured training programmes[1]

AMA has identified key issues that are critical for managing growth among MFIs. The key issues emerge from deliberations in national forums and sectoral debates. ACCESS experience in providing individualised technical services to MFIs would strengthen the design and delivery of the training programmes.

The set of training programmes comprise of issues ranging from principles of microfinance to institutional systems (business planning, products, systems, risk management) to capital structuring.  

The training programmes would enable partners to converge on their specific concerns that would in turn, facilitate update on good practices, latest developments and inter-institutional learning.

These training programmes would be organised in various locations across the country to enable wider participation of partners. The programmes, open to AMA partners, would be provided at discounted cost.

AMA would undertake necessary changes in content and delivery of the programmes by incorporating further feedback and suggestions from partners. 

List of suggested training programmes are given under ‘Plans for the calendar year 2008’ below.

2.          Facilitate funding support through mainstream financial institutions and the Livelihoods Innovation and Investment Fund (LIIF)

Funding of MFIs is an important aspect in their growth - AMA therefore proposes to work with banks and MFIs to smoothen flow of funds to MFIs.

AMA would also play a role in assisting MFIs to access the LIIF.

AMA partners will be eligible to apply for on-lending loan funds from the LIIF (earlier known as Revolving Loan Fund) facility that ACCESS has set up. The Fund is designed to support MFIs who are partners of this network through interim on-lending bridge support. Loans from this facility will depend on the appraisal carried out by ACCESS.  All investments will be guided by the set eligible criteria, standard processes and indicators.

3.          Create discussion forums among partners and other important stakeholders like banks and development institutions to address the emerging challenges and issues of microfinance institutions in the sector

AMA would organise regional conclaves and meeting with banks to strengthen MFIs through cross-learning and funding from banks.

4.          Build information relating to the sector through website, newsletters and other communication

Building public knowledge on work of MFIs would be a significant activity for AMA.

The ‘Microscan’ report would be further broadened to cover core information on AMA partners. A periodic newsletter is proposed that would cover the latest developments among AMA partners. AMA would also explore the possibility of creating a dedicated website for AMA that would cover activities and performance data of the partners.

5.          Enhance public reporting by microfinance institutions

AMA proposes to assist all partners to share their information on international forums like ‘MIX Market’ and ‘Microfinance Gateway’

AMA Partnership - Benefits

Partnership of AMA would bring the following benefits:

1.       Participation in AMA training programmes with discounted fees

2.       Special initiatives by ACCESS to attract investors and commercial banks.

3.       Assistance in getting linked to commercial banks and investment funds.

4.       Preference and discount for participating in capacity building events, conferences and seminars organised by ACCESS.

5.       Discount on priced publications of ACCESS

6.      A free copy of the “State of the Sector Report on Indian microfinance”.

7.      Eligibility for applying for LIIF on-lending fund

8.      Dissemination of the performance data of partners through ‘Microscan’, on large information database such as the MIX and in portals such as “microfinance gateway”

AMA Activities in the year 2007

• Meeting of the AMA partners of West Bengal in Kolkata on March 21, 2007. 

• Meeting of the AMA partners of Orissa in Bhubaneshwar on July 27, 2007. 

• Meeting of the AMA partners of Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad on July 30, 2007.

The above three meetings were held to sensitize partners regarding the services to be provided by the ACCESS Microfinance Alliance (AMA) and elicited a positive response from all participants.

SIDBI emphasized the need for such a forum which would not only provide structured and streamlined microfinance technical / capacity building services to the NGOs / MFIs but also facilitate funds for the NGOs / MFIs viz., grants for capacity building and increasing outreach and loans for onlending.DCB was very happy to address the AMA partners and appreciated ACCESS’s role in creating such an opportunity. The Bank has also decided to commit loans to the AMA partners.

AMA Activity Plan for the Calendar Year 2008

An activity plan that details activities to be carried out by AMA in participation with its partners during the current calendar year is outlined below:     

[1] Structured training programs of AMA are in addition to specific technical assistance programs being provided by ACCESS.