We visited Ujjivan because it is a Micro Finance Institution (MFI) that works with Grameen. Ujjivan services the urban poor, with many of its customers in the Bangalor area. It is managed very well, and in fact was the top 2011 MFI in India. Having seen their operations, I can understand why they won this award. Grameen is working with Ujjivan through their Human Capital Center. Peg Ross, who traveled with us to India is responsible for this program. The idea is to develop middle mangers in the Micro Finance Industry to ensure that programs will continue to be scalable. Ujjivan has been the perfect partner in testing this program. They have been extremely supportive of the program, and have seen real results in the 3 months since the pilot training program was completed.
After meeting with the program participants yesterday, we went to several Ujjivan Center meetings and heard amazing stories about how the micro loans are really helping people. In the first center we went to, many of the loans were for education. People were especially excited to send their kids to English medium schools. We also heard about loans for family health care problems, home improvement, and many business loans. It was really exciting. One interesting point all the ladies made is that they were likely going to get the personal and family loans from money lenders if Ujjivan were not providing them with loans. Money lenders generally charge between 60-120% and are know to use very corsive methods to ensure repayment. By getting loans from Ujjiavn, the families are able to move forward with debt that they can afford.
Here are some pictures from the first meeting. Note that the women sit in their lending groups. There are 5 women per group. The group leader of the first group is the center leader. The groups all give their repayment to the center leader. She counts it, notes it all down and then gives the money to the Ujjivan loan officer. The loan officer then recounts the money and records it in Ujjivan's records. At the beginning of each meeting the participants all recite the Ujjivan pledge. Money is then collect. Then the groups have a chance to talk to the Ujjivan representative about any questions or concerns. Participants are fined for being late, and are fined more for lack of attendance. They take these meetings very seriously. The meeting we went to was very active with lively discussion.
After meeting with the program participants yesterday, we went to several Ujjivan Center meetings and heard amazing stories about how the micro loans are really helping people. In the first center we went to, many of the loans were for education. People were especially excited to send their kids to English medium schools. We also heard about loans for family health care problems, home improvement, and many business loans. It was really exciting. One interesting point all the ladies made is that they were likely going to get the personal and family loans from money lenders if Ujjivan were not providing them with loans. Money lenders generally charge between 60-120% and are know to use very corsive methods to ensure repayment. By getting loans from Ujjiavn, the families are able to move forward with debt that they can afford.
Here are some pictures from the first meeting. Note that the women sit in their lending groups. There are 5 women per group. The group leader of the first group is the center leader. The groups all give their repayment to the center leader. She counts it, notes it all down and then gives the money to the Ujjivan loan officer. The loan officer then recounts the money and records it in Ujjivan's records. At the beginning of each meeting the participants all recite the Ujjivan pledge. Money is then collect. Then the groups have a chance to talk to the Ujjivan representative about any questions or concerns. Participants are fined for being late, and are fined more for lack of attendance. They take these meetings very seriously. The meeting we went to was very active with lively discussion.
No comments:
Post a Comment