Why you should CARE about microinsurance

We have written about microinsurance before, including SKS’s Vikram Akula’s decision to develop a product for his customers. Now, Bajaj-Allianz and CARE India will be developing a product of their own. In an interesting partnership between the charity and a commercial company, this venture will aim to help individuals substantially improve livelihoods through the safety net […]

[Guest Post]: Health Microinsurance Models

Editor’s Note: Aparna Dalal works with the Financial Access Initiative, a research consortium between New York University, Harvard, Yale, and Innovations for Poverty Action. FAI is focused on finding answers to how financial services can better meet the needs of poor households. FAI aims to provide rigorous research on the impacts of financial access and […]

Tsunami Microinsurance

From PSD Blog — World Bank Group: A new health insurance plan will enable the poor in India to buy health insurance for less than 10 cents a month, and it will cover natural disasters including Tsunamis. The new program is a partnership between and aid group, CARE International, and a private insurer, Allianz. It […]

Sa-Dhan to Host Microfinance Conference in New Delhi

Sa-Dhan, an association of community development finance institutions in India will host a National Microfinance Conference in New Delhi on March 31, 2009. The conference is centered on the theme, ‘Microfinance Ecosystem: Equilibrium Between Growth & Effectiveness’. One of the goals for this event is for Sa-Dhan member organization to come together with academicians, practioners […]

Evolution of microfinance through lens of human resources

One of the most recognizable names in Indian microfinance has decided to step down from his role as CEO. Vikram Akula, the visionary founder and leader of SKS Microfinance will step down. Mr. Akula says that this change will allow him to focus on a new initiative – microinsurance.  As MicroCapital reported earlier this year, SKS […]

[Guest Post]: Financial Literacy and Microfinance – New Research

Editor’s Note: Aparna Dalal works with the Financial Access Initiative, a research consortium between New York University, Harvard, Yale, and Innovations for Poverty Action. FAI is focused on finding answers to how financial services can better meet the needs of poor households. FAI aims to provide rigorous research on the impacts of financial access and […]

Soundbites from Nancy Barry, former President and CEO of Women’s World Banking

Last night I had the good fortune of sitting in on a talk given by Nancy Barry, a pioneer in the field of creating private, market-based solutions to poverty alleviation for women across the globe. Her talk was very powerful and on many points, spot on accurate in my opinion. A veteran of the World […]

News in Microfinance

Here are two stories from Microcapital.org: Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF) and Lok Capital LLC have decided to jointly invest $1.5 million in Arohan Financial Services Ltd., a MFI located in Kolkata. Partnering with traditional MFIs like SKS India, companies like Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (Basix), Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance and TATA AIG Life […]

MicrofIN[DIA]nce

Here are some major headlines with regard to microfinance in India: A new technology platform designed specifically for microinsurance providers has been launched ICICI and others have banded together to create a rating system for MFIs A recent study indicates that microfinance is focusing more on the urban areas than before NABARD sponsors trip for […]

TC-I Tidbits

You daily dose of headlines: Health, Women and Mortality:The lack of inclusion of midwives within the National Rural Health Mission is highlighted as one of the main reasons for the high maternal mortality rate in India. Education: Wada Na Todo Abhiyan (WNTA) continued to push the government to pass the Right to Education Bill. Public […]

Headlines Digest

Microfinance: SKS Microfinance is getting serious about microinsurance, by partnering with Bajaj Allianz to provide coverage to its members. Also, ACCESS Development Services will be providing intensive capacity building support to MFIs in India, and access to loans from European cjompanies. The project is partially funded by the European commission [both stories via Microcapital] Healthcare: […]

Guest Posts

Recognizing that the five of us on the ThinkChange India team cannot do it all, we actively look for guest bloggers to contribute to the platform to better cover this fast changing and moving space. Here you will find an updated list of entries by our Guest Bloggers as they are posted onto our blog. […]

Microfinance 2.0

Here is an interesting article from Spiegel Online (thanks Avashya for letting us know about it) on an entrepreneur’s efforts to utilize the power of private equity to scale up microfinance institutions more quickly and to provide them with the capital necessary for significant expansion. One issue that comes to mind, as is discussed further […]