Berendina provides microfinance

Berendina Microfinance Institute (Gte) Ltd., (BMI) surpassed 50,000 active clients with an outstanding loan balance of one billion rupees in a five-year period.

"Active borrowers reached 50,011 in September with a total outstanding loan portfolio Rs. 1,073,420,077and the operational sustainability reaching to 113.1percent. Many families in the plantation sector have no facilities to access adequate credit facilities. The under-privileged in the North and the East as well as those in other dry zone areas have limited access to collateral free credit at present, thus the expansion of BMI services is vital in the future", a spokesman for the company said.

Director, Berendina Microfinance Institute (Gte) Ltd (BMI), Anura Athapattu, said that women borrowers amounted to 76 percent of the total borrowers and BMI has achieved around 50 percent growth each year. He was speaking on 'Challenges faced by the 'Non Profit'Microfinance Institutions including BMI in Sri Lanka'.

"Due to the lack of microfinance regulations, the industry is suffering badly which can adversely affect the needy. Non communication among microfinance institutes, multiple borrowings and over indebtedness among clients especially in town centres increased significantly in the past few years.

BMI overcame the challenges by partnering with new banks including commercial banks, expanding to underserved areas and working with Lanka Microfinance Practitioners Association directly to bring a favourable regulatory framework and combating multiple lending issues", he said.