Dr. Jeyaseelan argues prudently that there is a need to assess the extent of changes resulted from the microfinance intervention to all the stakeholders—the clients (target beneficiaries), the organization, the staff, society, and the planet (COSSP) at large. This kind of assessment would facilitate ushering in an inclusive growth.
Dr. Jeyaseelan with his rich hands-on experience in both models of microfinance in India has brought out this timely publication. While analyzing the issues relating to scaling up, the book also offers a framework for balanced growth considering all stakeholders. The book will be valuable for practitioners, academics, and policy makers to develop insights on future drivers of the microfinance industry.
Dr. N. Jeyaseelan possesses an extremely inquisitive mind and is a continuous learner. The above qualities coupled with his research-based approach to finding solution to problems make him an ideal candidate to author the book on the future of Micro Finance. I am sure readers will find the focus areas suggested by him in the book, extremely useful in developing a disciplined and Purpose Centred Micro Finance portfolio.
Dr. Jeyaseelan’s book Scaling Up Micro Finance: What next? Top 10 focus areas to achieve a Purpose Centred Growth” traces the history of Microfinance in India and goes on to assess the potential for its growth and also suggests focus areas to achieve a “Purpose Centred Growth”. His simple narratives drawing on his past experiences as a Banker will be extremely useful for those who want to understand the nuances of Microfinance and provides an answer to those who are still nurturing the misconception that unsecured lending to such class of borrowers could be a risky proposition.
One of the best books with important information to guide MFIs, NGOs, and banks about microfinance. The author has organized a large volume of content and research with a logical structure that provides the reader with relevant insights on microfinance.
Dr. Jeyaseelan’s years of experience and practical solutions in rural finance have been fully utilized in this book. This is a hard, critical look at the meaning of microfinance and how to create an impact on vulnerable people’s lives through microfinance. A must-read for those who believe that business at the bottom of the pyramid can and should be a win-win for all stakeholders.
This book has come at the right time. Microfinance has been scaled up significantly in India but there is a gnawing question whether the industry has forgotten the very purpose for which it came into existence—the betterment of the lives of people who become members of the microfinance industry. This book should help all practitioners to do a deep soul search and possibly come up with a 2.0 version that would retain the core of microfinance while enabling scale up too.
Dr. Jeyaseelan who threw away his comfortable bank job to plunge into the development focused work, brings to us the essence of his interventions for a long period in the development finance sector through this book. His conceptualization of “Purpose Centred Growth” is relevant in this day when we have issues of institutions neglecting the basic principle of triple bottom line and only concentrating on volumes, margins, and returns. The way forward on policies as enumerated in this book is apt and must provoke the thought processes in the policy making arena. This book is a must-read for all those who are in microfinance as well as the broader development arena.
Scaling Up Micro Finance: What Next? book is coming in the opt time where all kind of microfinance practitioners are looking for right kind of clients, institution models to succeed and benefit each other which ultimately lead to Purpose Centred Growth. This book will definitely help to a large extent the practitioners to understand the genuine needs of the sector and how to address the issues to achieve the real purpose. All practitioners should make use of the suggestions given by the author Dr. Jeyaseelan.
Dr. Jeyaseelan’s (Jey’s) journey to date has been insightful and the way he has made think the most bottom of Pyramid person to have a Vision in their house painted and look at it every day was very much touching. In today’s world, the poorest people have lost hope and stop seeing the dreams but with responsible lending, it is possible to bring up the ladder which the author has been doing for last so many years. I hope many more get inspired after reading this book and we find many more Jey who can widen the MFI reach and base.