With the growing influence of the middle class and ease of lending norms, there have been many NBFC and MFI institutions that have come up in order to advance loans to the general consumers as well as the business community. In order to ensure that these institutions function well and thrive collectively, there are a number of NBFC and MFI associations that have been established for this purpose.
Here is a look at some well-known associations and their activities
LIST OF NBFCs
1 – FIDC
The association works towards framing a model of conduct for the finance industry. The association seeks to ensure the strategic and healthy growth of NBFCs in India. It makes sure that the participating members function effectively as a part of the financial system. The association also serves to protect customers’ interest and to resolve grievances of the members.
It held the Real Estate and Infra Investors’ summit 2018. It covered topics like current trends and scenario in Indian Real Estate Investment, Integrated city development and cost financing in affordable housing. This summit had featured exclusive opportunities for investors to pre-schedule their private discussions with development partners. An aim of that event was to improve the confidence level of lenders, investors and consumers by bringing in professional and ethical practices. This summit had improved the focus on cross-border real estate investment.
2 – Association of Gold Loan Companies (India)
The Association of Gold Loan Companies (India) is a non-profitable organization and was established with an intention to work for the welfare and benefit of the member companies.
The main objectives and aims of this association are to organize seminars, to collect data, and to conduct surveys on the working of Gold loan financing companies in other countries. It currently has 7 members.
 
 
3 – DLAI
Digital Lenders Association of India was established in November 2016 with an aim to bring digital lenders and its players under one roof which would help the ecosystem to grow and flourish. DLAI is run by a management committee which is elected every year. Its main objectives are to develop and support the digital lending industry. It has 9 founding members and 22 general members.
The DLAI‘s Fintech Conference – Financial Inclusion 2.0 is India’s largest Fintech Conference which was held at Taj Lands End. It included talks on various topics which ranged from how to make flow based lending effective in India to How to build an effective Fintech company. It also included talks on the current state of Indian Fintech landscape. They had a great networking session for the attendees. They also have an upcoming event in December 2018 named Kickstarting Start-Ups.

You May Also Like: How can MIS help the NBFC Companies?

LIST OF MICROFINANCE ASSOCIATIONS AND NETWORKS
1 – Microfinance Institutions Network India
It was created in October 2009 to promote the key objectives of microfinance and financial inclusion for all classes of people. It helps economically underprivileged communities to achieve greater financial independence and build sustainable livelihoods. It works towards the robust development of the microfinance sector, by promoting responsible lending, client protection, and a supportive regulatory environment.
MFIN hosted MFIN Awards 2018 in recognition of excellence in the microfinance and small-scale lending sector. The event was attended by different institutions like NFBCs, Fintech & telecoms, banks, clean energy. They also had two day SRO workshop on “Self-Regulation and Compliance” in 2017. MFIN had the second edition of Associates Round Table in 2017.
2 – Sa-Dhan – The Association of Community Development Finance Institutions
Sa-Dhan the Association of Community Development Finance Institution was founded in 1998. Its main objective is to help its members and associated institutions to better serve the low-income households. This would especially cover women in rural and urban India for establishing a stable livelihood and improving the quality of life.
The Sa-Dhan National Conference was held on 19^th & 20^th September 2018 in New Delhi. The theme for the conference was “propelling the growth of the Informal Sector through Microfinance.” It provided a unique platform for information sharing, dialogue & deliberation around financial inclusion. The conference saw eminent speakers from the Government, RBI and NHB gracing the event.
3 – AKMI – MFI’s in Karnataka
The Association of Karnataka MFI’s was established in 2007.  Its main focus is to bring better transparency and governance, client protection and ethical practices among the MFIs.  It has 27 MFI members as on 31^st March 2017. AKMI is registered under society Act 1960. The core values of this association are Integrity, Fair Practices, Transparency and Quality of Services.
4 – Banking with the Poor Network
The Banking with the Poor Network is Asia’s microfinance network of organisations established in 1990. The main objective of BWTP is to improve the quality of life of the poor through promoting and facilitating their access to sustainable financial services. They fulfil this mission through information sharing, knowledge creation and policy advocacy.
BWTP hosted an event – the Mekong Inclusive Growth Forum in October 2018. It was an initiative of FDC, BWTP and APEC Business Advisory Council, in partnership with ADA, GMSR-BC and the Fiscal Policy Office of Thailand’s Ministry of Finance. The main objectives for the event were to identify knowledge gaps and to increase levels of understating among government officials on critical issues.
5 – South Asian Microfinance Network
The SAMN was asset up in 2008 and has a primary aim to bring together 8 MFIs and put together a framework in place for coordinating and enabling regional dialogue between the participating MFIs. These members together cater to the business needs of 60 million clients spread in 6 countries in South Asia.
The SAMN has organized the 2018 edition of the South Asian Regional Micro Finance Conference. The event was graced by 150 foreign delegates and 150 local delegates. It also saw 70 renowned speakers from South Asia, Europe, and USA. Before this, it had concluded the 2014 and 2016 edition of the conferences too in the past.

You May Also Like: CloudBankIN – Saas Banking Engine

6 – ACCION Network
ACCION promotes financial inclusion at all levels. Their aim to let the financial deserving get a chance to have a sustainable livelihood. They perform various functions like advisory services (combining tech with MFI frameworks), investment (in companies that drive microfinance to reach more number of deserving candidates), partnership (to develop new markets for microfinance penetration) and thought leadership activities.
It will be holding the Inclusive Finance India summit on 11 and 12^th December 2018 at New Delhi. The board areas to be covered include modern day issues around financial inclusion, financial education, and financial stability.
7 – India Collective for Microfinance
The ICMF is a national level network created to coordinate activities in the field of microfinance. All participants from governmental, non-governments, banks, donor agencies and research agencies come together with one aim – to alleviate poverty with the use of microfinance to help poor people get access to credit. It takes steps to eliminate obstacles that come in the way of meeting these objectives.
Formed in 1997, the association is fully committed to spreading the outreach of microfinance and make it conveniently accessible to deserving entrepreneurs and small-scale business owners. 11 members make up the association and work collectively towards collating and disseminating information and best practices that are framed within the regulatory framework and the association’s targets to improve penetration of microfinance into the rural parts of the nation. This way grass root level organizations can comprehend the importance of microfinance and ensure better coverage across India.
8 – International Network of Alternative Financial Institutions
INAFI supports the endeavours of microfinance companies operating in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe. It has 150 member organizations spanning four continents. All members are in the microfinance domain – i.e. providing financial services to the poor. It promotes self-regulated and affordable microfinance to the poor so that they can get access to credit for earning the livelihood. INAFI members’ common mission is to make a contribution towards the elimination of poverty. It aims to do this by granting efficient credit, savings and capacity/skill building services to deserving people, especially women.