SKS MICROFINANCE RANKED NO. 1 MFI IN INDIA BY MIX MARKET

Ranked No.2 globally; scores high in growth, outreach& transparency

Hyderabad - December 31, 2008

SKS Microfinance has been ranked as the number one MFI in the country and number 2 in the world in the annual composite rankings conducted by Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Market, the world’s leading business information provider for the microfinance industry.

The results, based on the performance in 2007 by 971 microfinance organizations across the world attempts to provide a composite picture of MFI performance using parameters of outreach, efficiency and transparency. The Ranking highlights the achievements that MFIs have made in expanding access to financial services, while minimizing costs to clients. These two goals, along with transparency and profitable operations, combine to present a picture of well rounded MFI performance. Scoring high in outreach, growth and transparency, SKS has a percentile score of 85.77 percent in the overall ranking.

Commenting on the ranking, Dr Vikram Akula, Founder & Chairperson, SKS Microfinance said, “The recognition is a testimony to the efficiency and the hard work of the field assistants, the strict adherence to the processes and the transparency that SKS maintains with its members and other stakeholders. We were also delighted to see that Indian MFIs generally did very well in the rankings. India had more than 10 MFIs in the top 100 and 7 in the top 50. This is a testament to the rigor of the Indian MFI sector”

The 2008 MIX Global 100 Composite Ranking surveyed the business results of 971 institutions. Leading performers were drawn from a diverse sample of MFIs that served over 67 million borrowers with over USD 35 billion in loans, and held USD 15 billion in deposits from 65 million microfinance clients. This year’s survey ranked MFIs from all regions of the globe and included the range of service providers, from banks and other regulated financial institutions, to non profits and community owned cooperatives.

This is the second edition of MIX Market ranking. SKS was ranked as Number 1 MFI in the world in the 2007 MIX Global composite ranking. Recently Business Week rated SKS Microfinance as one of the world’s most emerging influential companies.

About SKS Microfinance

SKS Microfinance is a non-bank finance company (NBFC) whose mission is to eradicate poverty by providing financial services to the poor. Launched in 1998, SKS Microfinance is India’s largest and one of the world’s fastest growing microfinance organizations with an annual growth rate of 200 per cent. It currently serves 3.3 million clients across 50,000 villages and slums in 18 states and has disbursed Rs. 5141 crore ($1 billion) in loans with a 99 % repayment rate. SKS also provides life and health insurance to its clients.

SKS operates in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

SKS has received numerous awards including the CGAP Pro-Poor Innovation Award, the ABN-AMRO/Planet Finance Process Excellence Award, Information Integrity Award, the Digital Partners SEL Award and the Grameen Foundation USA Excellence Award. It was founded by Vikram Akula, who was named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World (2006).

About MIX Market

The MIX MARKET ™ is a global, web-based, microfinance information platform. It provides information to sector actors and the public at large on microfinance institutions (MFIs) worldwide, public and private funds that invest in microfinance, MFI networks, raters/external evaluators, advisory firms, and governmental and regulatory agencies. The MIX Market seeks to develop a transparent information market to link MFIs worldwide with Investors and Donors and promote greater investment and information flows.

The MIX MARKET currently provides data on 1347 MFIs, 103 investors and 180 partners.

The MIX MARKET, previously known as "The Virtual Microfinance Market (VMM)," started as an UNCTAD project (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development). The project was supported by the government of Luxembourg under the guidance of a sector-wide microfinance Advisory Board.

In 2001, CGAP (The Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest), a consortium of donors that promotes microfinance worldwide, expanded the scope of the MIX MARKET in collaboration with UNCTAD.

Publicly launched in September 2002, the MIX MARKET is now a key component of the MIX (Microfinance Information eXchange), a new, not-for-profit private organization supported by CGAP, the Citigroup Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Rockdale Foundation, and other private foundations.