Microfinance roundtable
Microfinance Practitioners' Roundtable on June 12-13, 2008, in London, England. The Roundtable aimed to build on existing experiences and lessons, and push the boundaries of current thinking to:
- Develop common principles for assessing the viability of micro- and commercial finance in the WASH sector, from the perspective of achieving operational and financial sustainability over time;
- Develop a conceptual framework on what is needed to scale up these market based approaches;
- Develop recommendations on the types of activities and approaches different stakeholders (donors, NGOs, banks, etc.) can use to build on the above, in order to further this market.
Summary of round table event
On June 12-13, 2008, a variety of microfinance institutions (MFIs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), donor agencies and commercial banks met in London to explore sustainable scaling up of microfinance in the water and sanitation sector. They discussed principles, frameworks, and recommendations with a focus on actual experience and drawing from the diverse range of expertise from participants. Although some participants hoped to take home a ‘finished’ product, the questions that emerged seem more valuable than any ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution.
Executive summary_round table_06_08.doc (29.5 kB)
Theoretical framework - day 1
Activities during Day 1 built on a study, which assesses the potential market size and scope for leveraging microfinance in the water and sanitation sector. Three core product segments where microfinance could be used for water and sanitation investments:
- Retail loans for households for water and sanitation
- Loans for small scale investments in new or existing water projects managed by CBOs or small private providers
- Loans for urban services upgrading and shared facilities in low income areas in towns and cities
Participants were asked to asked to accept, reject, or improve on the three models. The full discussion is available in the document.
Theoretical framework_round table_06_08.doc (876.0 kB)
Practical applications - day 2
Day 2 dealt with more practical issues. Each participant had 3 minutes to explain its challenges in scaling microfinance for WS&H, and to make a pitch to the rest of the participants on why they should join them in a brainstorm to tackle the challenge. The goal of the exercise was to start building practical examples which applied the thinking and ideas from Day 1. The groups were tasked with developing a hypothesis for overcoming the challenges presented. The full discussion can be read in the document.
Roles, networks and opportunities
In the afternoon on Day 2, the group was asked to identify support needs that they thought micro finance institutes require in order to scale up the use of micro/small scale finance in water and sanitation. Building on small-group discussions, participants wrote out their ideas on index cards. The ideas are listed in the document.
Roles_round table_06_08.doc (87.0 kB)
Debriefing
In the debriefing participants shared their views on the structure and content of the convening. A table in the separate document gives an overview of the comments received.
Debriefing_round table_06_08.doc (66.0 kB)
Next steps
At the end of the workshop, participants were given blank cards to provide feedback on possible next steps. The goal was to establish a list of actions to take the ideas and thinking generated at the event forward, whether ‘low hanging fruits or longer term needs. A consolidated list is provided in the separate document.
Next steps_round table_06_08.doc (35.0 kB)
Follow-up activities
Several ideas were generated at the event that could be developed with further participation from attendees or other interested parties. These included:
- A glossary of terms
- Additional case studies
- A community of practice
