DENPASAR: Noted economist Faisal Basri on Friday praised Microfinance Institutions (MFI) for gaining the Balinese people's trust, saying more should become MFI customers to help boost village economies.
"A village-based MFI will return the benefit from the people's savings in the form of improvements to the village's social facilities. So, for the villagers, dealing with their village's MFI would give more benefits than dealing with regular banks," he said on the sidelines of a one-day seminar about Bali MFIs.
Up to now, as many as 1,382 MFIs were registered on the island. They have managed Rp 1.6 trillion (US$177.70 million) of third party funds.
Nyoman Mukardi, one of the customers, acknowledged that being an MFI customer had enabled him to propose various kinds of loans without worrying about sophisticated administration processes.
"The MFI management has prioritized trust and flexibility over many things. Therefore, we feel more confident to deal with them," he told The Jakarta Post. -- JP
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