KfW provides EUR86.7M to SIDBI for Indian microfinance sector

Microfinance Focus, Dec. 22, 2009: The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and the German Development Bank (KfW), have signed agreements last week for financial assistance totalling 86.7 million euros for India’s microfinance sector, essentially to bridge the gap between demand and supply of financial services for the poor in India.

The SIDBI Microfinance Programme, which consists of a credit line of 85 million euros and an accompanying technical assistance grant of 1.7 million euro, will facilitate and boost the financing of microfinance institutions by SIDBI.  Despite the exponential growth of the microfinance sector in India, a wide gap between the demand for and supply of financial services for the poor still exists, said a press release.

“All over the world, microfinance has enabled hundreds of thousands of poor women to take charge of their own lives, “said Uwe Ohls, Senior Vice-President of KfW.

German financial cooperation is channeled through KfW, which acts as the implementing agency on behalf of the German Government. KfW Entwicklungsbank or KfW Development Bank is part of the KfW Bankengruppe, one of the largest banks in Germany. With a microfinance portfolio of some 1.4 billion euros spanning several continents, KfW is one of the world’s leading microfinance financiers.

© 2009, Microfinance News. All rights reserved. 2008-09