Microfinance meet from Dec 20

KATHMANDU, DEC 19 -

The Rural Microfinance Development Centre (RMDC) is organising the ‘Revisiting Nepal Microfinance Vision 2015’ conference in Kathmandu from December 20. The two-day meet will discuss the goal set by the meeting two years ago. The conference held in 2010 had targeted to expand microfinance programme to all 75 districts and increase the access of micro credit facility to 3.2 million households. However, RMDC has estimated that the programme has so far expanded to only 67 districts and 1.8 million households have access to micro credit services. RMDC Chief Executive Officer Shankar Man Shrestha said the conference would review the progress made in the last two years. “Despite low expansion rate of the service, recipients are found taking excessive loans due to increasing number of microfinance institutions,” he said, adding this has increased the risk of loan defaults. RMDC will hold the conference in association with NMBA, MIFAN and NEFSCUN. The meet will churn out strategies for the growth of microfinance in the country. An estimated 200 microfinance practitioners from across the country are expected to participate in the conference. According to RMDC, the meet will see four paper presentations from private microfinance banks, Grameen Bikas banks, financial intermediary NGOs and microfinance cooperatives.

Source: The Kathmandu Post