NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

A candid account of what went wrong at SKS Microfinance Ltd during 2009-11 is in the offing. Founder and former chairman of SKS Microfinance, Vikram Akula, tells Santosh Tiwari in an interview he was working on his new book, which will focus on his SKS experience and lessons learnt. Edited excerpts:

How is life after SKS?
I am keeping busy. I am an investor in a new agricultural company, working on a strict routine. I also interact with other social enterprises and mentor (them). Though not actively involved in microfinance, I am keeping active in social enterprises more broadly.

Looking back, what would be your view on the whole issue?
In terms of micro finance…… In terms of micro finance. Yes.
Clearly, micro finance sector has gone through tremendous challenges. But, part of it obviously is perhaps due to their own hyper growth and the problems associated with that. I think one thing that’s clear is that despite the challenges microfinance will come back. Because at the end of the day, low income people in our country need access to finance and they need good form of access to finance. If anything, I think the crisis has taught MFI leaders that you need to do this in a responsible way — high quality and transparent services to the customers. I think eventually, the industry will come out of this challenge and come out stronger in providing high quality services.