The unit was guided by an Advisory Board made up of mostly practitioners in the field and the private sector. Our major objective was to develop a microfinance model that could be easily replicated across the country. One of the key issues that we had to answer was: What is the role of Government?
Should it or its agency actually lend money directly to borrowers? Most of us felt that Government should resist this temptation and go through microfinance institutions or MFIs. I still prescribe to this view because MFIs are on the ground and know their customers. Governments seldom do.