Catalytic Innovation in Microfinance for Inclusive Growth: Insights from SKS Microfinance

Microfinance offers a means for reaching the poor who are left out of the formal financial sector. A fundamentally new way is needed to create a scalable and sustainable business model to meet this unmet need – a catalytic innovation. Our study focused on Swayam Krishi Sangam (SKS), an archetype of a catalytic innovator. The insights gained from our three-year longitudinal study led to the proposed framework for a catalytic innovator encompassing five factors: customer focus on the poor and social entrepreneurship for the social mission; operational innovation, information technology and human capital management for scaling and financial sustainability.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the Journal of Asia Pacific Business in August 2010, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/10599231.2010.500574.