Deep Dive into Microfinance - Behind every successful man there is a woman

800MM people in India live under the poverty line. Microfinance banks such as Grameen Bank enable the poor to build business to become self sustaining. Those eligible for microfinance loans have no physical collateral so banks depend on social collateral to ensure loans are repaid. Here is a high level summary of the Microfinance loan process:

• - Loans are granted to women only
• - Each woman belongs to a Women's Group consisting of 5 women from their village that are not related and of similar age. Each member signs up to take on the liability of others in her group in the case of defaulted payments
• - Bank officers visit the woman's home to collect payment on a weekly basis
• - All Microfinance banks offer 1 product = 50 week loan, weekly repayment regardless of the circumstance 
• - The government of India has set a limit on interest rates for these loans at 26%. This percentage seems astronomical, but operating costs are also very high. 

Research has shown that when a woman is the source of funds in the family, there is a positive impact on their children's health, education, and she has a stronger standing in the family. These loans are used to buy buffaloes, cows, sewing machines, etc. all with the hope to put the families on a path to increased income and self sustainability.

My consulting project is with SVCL Bank which is a  joint venture between Vijay Parikh, a former American Express Executive and Sunil Sachdeva, an Indian entrepreneur. SVCL exclusively focuses on microlending and offers services in three northern states in India, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya

Pradesh and Rajasthan. 

My team of 3 is responsible for solidifying a business plan to elicit direct loan funding from corporations and individuals. 

Yamuna's Toxic Gods

Executive Director of Swechha, Vimlendu Jha's goal is to see a clean Yamuna in his lifetime. I didn't realize how ambitious this was until we visited the banks. Vimlendu is a young, passionate, leader who has dedicated his life to building programs and initiatives enabling social and environmental progress.

The Yamuna is India's primary source of water, yet to say it is polluted is an understatement. Over 60% of New Delhi's garbage ends up in the river. At the same time, the Yamuna is revered as a goddess. People pray and offer large statues of Gods into the river. These statues are made out of lead and are completely toxic. We saw a procession making such an offering during our visit.

Today we also took a boat "ride" to really see the filth described first hand. There was garbage everywhere. I saw a car pull over and throw garbage in plastic bags into the river, funeral pyres burning along the banks, holy men doing puja, and people bathing all alongside each other. We also stopped to see the junction after the Yamuna goes through the purification process - the water was completely black and smelled worse than anything I can describe. 

I do not understand how people can revere the Yamuna as a goddess, yet abuse it so terribly. Today was an incredibly heavy day. India is lucky to have change makers like Vimlendu plowing forward on his vision for a clean Yamuna river.

East vs. West

Today was day one of our intense weekend orientation. I met with SVCL and defined goals for my consulting project. We also did a host of team building exercises and cultural immersion trainings. One video shared was Devdutt Pattanaik's TED talk: East vs. West -- the myths that mystify. Pattanaik discusses how perspectives should be understood. Instead of forcing western culture in India, a third culture should be created for effective collaboration.  I highly recommend this video to anyone working across borders.

Delhi City Tour

Kicking off our time in Delhi, we had a tour of Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi) via rickshaw. What an amazing sensory experience! Our rickshaw driver was a pro at navigating narrow gullies full of pedestrians, scooters, cars, plenty of goats (today is Bakri Eid), and an occasional camel.

After the madness of Chandni Chowk, we visited the Bangla Sahib, which is one of the most prominent Gurudwaras in Delhi. It was a real treat to visit at night during prayer time.