Caspian Advisors is pleased to Congratulate all of our Award-winning Portfolio Companies on their remarkable contributions to, and achievements in, the microfinance sector:
Srijan Microfinance Forum and Awards 2009
Held in Mumbai, India on December 8, 2009, the Srijan Microfinance Forum is a national level platform that recognises emerging and innovative business initiatives in microfinance and financial inclusion. 2009’s theme of “Recognising Social Impact and Innovation” played host to over 400 participants in the industry, including investors, MF practitioners, consultants and service providers. Microfinance Awards were distributed in four categories: Client Centric Product/Service by an MFI, Emerging MFI, MFI Transparency, and Technology Innovation.
Arohan Financial Services was recognised with the Client-Centric Service/Product by a MFI Award for its stellar client focused practices by way its ‘Bazaar’ product which reaches out to male clients by using a workplace intervention strategy. In addition, Trident Microfin was also a finalist for this particular award for its 'Group Loans to Women - Monthly Repayments' product and was given a special recognition by the jury.
Sahayata Microfinance was recognised with the Emerging MFI of the Year Award as a new emerging business model with a high level of social impact and its ability to scale. In less than 3 years, Sahayata has reached out to over 100,000 customers across 5 states in India by way of 57 branches.
The Indus Entrepreneurs Conference (TiECON) Chennai 2009
Held in Chennai, India on November 27, 2009, the TiECON is the state of Tamil Nadu’s largest annual conclave for entrepreneurs. Founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley and currently standing with more than 11,000 members across 12 countries, the 2009 theme in Chennai of “Enterprising India – Creating Tomorrow’s Entrepreneur” was dedicated to entrepreneurs in India. At the Conference, Entrepreneurial Awards were given out, recognising the ‘entrepreneurial drive that propels the largest of organisations or the start-ups of yesterday” along with the entrepreneurial spirit of adventure that leads to success.
P N Vasudevan, Founder and Managing Director of Equitas Microfinance was chosen as the Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year” for his achievements in successfully reaching out to over 700,000 clients in just under 2 years of operations.
Microfinance India Summit: Social Performance Reporting Awards 2009
Held in New Delhi, India from October 26-28, 2009, the Social Performance Reporting Awards powered by the MIX Market and backed by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and CGAP, are designed to promote greater transparency in MFIs’ social performance and recognise MFIs’ transparency in social performance reporting.
Awards were distributed in Gold and Silver Categories. The Gold Category is for MFIs that comply with Social Performance Task Force core disclosures requirements - Part I, II, and Poverty Measurement data - and a third-party validation report of poverty outreach data, while the Silver Category is for MFIs that comply with Social Performance Task Force core disclosure requirements – Part I.
Ujjivan Financial Services was one of two Gold Category winners in the Indian Microfinance sector and;
In the Silver Category, Award recipients included Mimoza Enterprise & Finance (MIMO), Sonata Finance Private Limited, Arohan Financial Services and Janalakshmi Financial Services.
