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Microfinance Delivery: Challenges & Innovative Strategies of Microfinance Institutions of Ahmedabad & Gandhinagar City

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CHAPTER IV

MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS OF AHMEDABAD &

GANDHINAGAR - AN INTRODUCTION

4.1 MFIs of Ahmedabad & Gandhinagar - An Introduction

This chapter deals with the introduction of the Microfinance Institutions taken as sample

for the research work undertaken. It has two sections; first section deals with the brief

introduction about various MFIs whereas second section deals with the list of these

institutions in a tabular form.

4.1.1 Gujarat State Women’s SEWA Co-op Federation ltd.

About Organization:

• SEWA is state – level organization of 84 women's cooperatives as its members.

Registered in 1993, SEWA-sponsored cooperatives took various projects to form this apex

level federation of cooperatives, in order to obtain training, marketing, and capacity-

building and support for policy action with the government. In 1999, Rs. 20 lakhs worth

of crafts were exported with the Federation's assistance. In particular, the Federation helped

two district-level associations, Kutchcraft Association and Banaskantha DWCRA Mahila

SEWA Association to export and sell their patchwork embroidery in Paris. In 1996, the

Federation became a member of the National Cooperative Union of India. It has obtained

an ‘A’ grade by government auditors for the quality of its services and efficient

management.

• The objectives of the organization are to look into socio-economic and family

condition of self-employed women, to understand issues of self-employed women’s work

and to start organizing activities of SEWA amongst these women.


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Products & Services offered:

• SEWA offers supportive services like savings and credit, health care, child care,

insurance, legal aid, capacity building and communication services that are important for

poor women. SEWA has helped women by taking number of initiatives in organizing these

services for themselves and their SEWA sisters.

4.1.2 Women Empowerment Corporation (WEC)

About Organization:

• WEC is a social business company based on non-loss, Non-dividend company

started by the group of friends to empower these poor downtrodden women from social to

spiritual empowerment under section 25 of the Indian Companies Act 1956.

• The mission of the corporation is to alleviate the poverty and annihilate the caste

system and create the casteless, healthy, peaceful and prosperous society


• WEC facilitates various range of micro financial products and facilities, to its

trained Social Entrepreneur in various areas of unorganized sectors where they are working.

WEC promoters are the key functionaries for the beneficiaries for all the help. It measures

to create peace and harmony by introducing an innovative social business model like

Microfinance WEC-Mart, Business Training, Healthcare, Financial Services, Higher

education, Information Technology, Social Marketing etc areas for the social business.

• It offers Micro–credit products like Samyak Ajivika Laghu Dhiran (Perfect

Livelihood Generating Micro-credit) and Parivar Smruddhi Laghu Dhiran (Family

Strengthening Micro-credit)


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4.1.3 Saath Charitable Trust

About Organization:

• Saath is NGO registered as public charitable trust in Gujarat. It’s one-stop,

integrated services reach over 100,000 slum dwellers in Ahmedabad, and many more in

Gujarat and Rajasthan states of India. Since 1989, it has facilitated participatory processes

that improve the quality of life for the urban and rural poor. Initiated in 1994, Saath started

providing opportunities for savings in a community-based model. In 1999, it expanded its

services with small loans.

• Saath focused on its operation in more formal way, with the establishment of co-

operative society structure. In 2002, two Co-operatives were formed to work in two

different areas of Ahmedabad. In March 2010, all the Co-operatives came together to form,

The Saath Savings and Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. With 7 Cooperative branches it

serves over 18,000 members. The total amount of cumulative savings was Rs. 2, 97, 36,941

by the March 31, 2013.


• Saath’s key focus is in the areas of health, education, livelihood, infrastructure

development and microfinance with the aim of making these basic services affordable and

accessible to the urban poor. For all programmes, community participation forms the

essence of Saath’s developmental efforts. It focuses on development of society on the

whole by uplifting needy section of society. It empowers local people, to ensure that they

are able to carry on the process of sustainable development, is the chief motto of Saath.


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4.1.4 Samerth Trust

About Organization:

• Samerth Charitable Trust came into existence in November 1992. The purpose of

the organization is peace education, microfinance, natural resource management and

livelihoods. Samerth envisions and works towards the involvement of a world free of

conflicts and the chains of exploitation and push development with a special emphasis on

equal opportunity, access to resources, gender equity, democratic governance, participatory

learning and respect for diverse cultures etc.

• The mission of the trust is to work towards strengthening people’s capacities and

equipping community institutions so that they are informed and are able to access their

rights to have a human existence. Efforts are focused on the development of rural: women,

children and youth who are deprived and considered as down trodden segments.

• The aim of the organization is to reach to more and more needy & helpless people,

to make their life better by providing basic needs like education, home, micro credit,

training camp etc. by the support of Indians. The aim is to take full responsibility of the

nation’s physically challenged person on hygiene and education. FTS India, the sister

concern, is a social service organization dedicated to the cause of tribal and rural

upliftment.


• The trust is involved in charity of Children, Differently Abled, Disaster

Management, Drinking Water, Education & Literacy, Human Rights, Legal Awareness &

Aid, and Land Resources.


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4.1.5 MAS Financial Services Limited (MFS)

About Organization:

• MAS is specialized in specialized retail financing organization engaged in financial

services since 1988, registered with Reserve Bank of India as an NBFC. MFS is focused

retail finance company, spread all over Gujarat, Maharashtra & Rajasthan with its 71

branches and more than 1700 Locations.

• It has created the expertise in the distribution of credit and a base of more than 4,

00,000 customers. The focus of the organization is the to reach lower income and middle

income groups of the society, spread across urban, semi urban and rural areas, and

including formal and informal sector.


• MAS offer loans and Financial Services for Home Loans, Two Wheeler Loans,

MSME Loans, Agri Loans, SME Loans and Commercial Vehicle Loans to satisfy their

varied needs. They are providing MSME finance loan. They cater to the micro

entrepreneurs to augment their business activities. The interest rate for the product ranges

between 21% to 30%. They also provide two wheeler loans. The interest rate for Small

and Medium Enterprises (SME) product ranges between 16% -20%. MAS also provide agri

loan and mortgage loan.

4.1.6 Unnati Foundation

About Organization:

• Unnati Foundation is a voluntary non-profit organization registered under the

Societies Registration Act (1860) in 1990. It has completed 21 years of providing

educational support in Gujarat and 12 years in Rajasthan. During 1990-95, it played the

role of a capacity building support institution.


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• The key areas of support were participatory planning, evaluation and organizational

management. It is an issue based, strategic educational support organization working in

Western India with people’s collectives, NGOs, elected representatives in local governance

and the government.

• The objective is to promote social inclusion and democratic governance so that the

vulnerable sections of society are empowered to effectively and decisively participate in

mainstream development and decision making processes.


• The activities are carried out through three thematic centers, they are, Social

Inclusion and Empowerment, Civic Leadership Governance and Social Accountability and

Social Determinants of Disaster Risk Reduction.

4.1.7 Udgam Charitable Trust

About Organization:

• Udgam Charitable Trust is the inspiration received from many NGO organizations, micro

finance companies, P2P lending companies and websites from around the world. Aim is to

bring the best of information and technology so that the least time is spent on making

information available to the donor and for individuals looking for help.

• Started working with a few NGO’s and realized that the task at hand is too large and

probably impossible for a group to handle and hence it was more prudent to use technology

so that all the likeminded people could work towards making the planet a better place


• Udgam Charitable Trust is in the area of health, education, livelihood and microfinance at the

affordable rate to the urban poor. It focuses on development of society on the whole by

uplifting needy section of society.


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4.1.8 Arman Financial Services Limited

About Organization:

• Arman Financial Services Limited originally incorporated on 26th November, 1992

as an erstwhile Arman Lease & Finance Ltd. The company is a public limited listed

company. It issued 28,00,000 equity shares of Rs. 10 each on 21st August, 1995 making it

to Rs 280 lakhs after receiving an overwhelming response from the public for its public

issue which was oversubscribed by 7 times in the category of small investor and more than

22 times in case of applicants with application of more than 1000 shares.

• The main objective of the company is to provide wide spectrum of financial

services both Fund based and Non Fund Based activities which includes term loans,

collateral free credit, other forms of credits, thrift and savings and insurance. Arman also

plans to provide financial services to people by acting as intermediary for banks and

financial institutions in the cities, towns, villages of India.


• Features of loan products currently offered by Arman is, two wheeler loan, three

wheeler loans, used wheeler loan and personal loan. Company also offers loan for income

generating activities.

4.1.9 Disha Microfinance Limited (DMFL)

About Organization: Disha Microfinance is an NBFC registered with Reserve Bank of

India in the state of Gujarat. DMFL believes in the world in which an easy access to a range

of high quality financial services provided to as many households as possible. It provides

microfinance products and services to rural, semi urban and urban women on a

commercially sustainable basis. Within a short span of time, DMFL has already made a

significant difference to thousands of families from the lower economic strata and rapidly

growing its operations in more and more areas in Gujarat.


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Vision of the organization is to provide a commercially viable and socially relevant

financing option to the lower income group and there by participate in the integration of

this group in to the prospering Indian middle class. And mission is to make a measurable

economic and social impact on the lives of the lower income households by carrying out

various microfinance initiatives and creating environment friendly livelihood opportunities.


Loan products currently offered by DMFL are two wheeler loan, three wheeler loans, used

wheeler loan and personal loan. Company also offers loan for income generating activities.

A special product is also offered by Disha to take care of client emergency requirement of

loan to smoothen their house hold cash flow. It also has partnership with LIC and Kotak

Insurance for offering the insurance product.

4.1.10 Arth Microfinance Private Limited (AMFPL)

About Organization:

• AMFPL is a Private Limited Company, originally incorporated on the March 14,

1996 at New Delhi as M/s Chandra Cresec Private Limited under the provisions of The

Companies Act, 1956. The Name of M/s Chandra Cresec Private Limited was changed to

M/s Arth Micro Finance Private Limited by a Resolution Dated 28th May 2009.

• The Company is also Registered with the Department of Non-Banking Supervision

of the Reserve Bank of India, New Delhi under the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934 as a

Non Banking Financial Company since 27th April 2000 and the Registration Number given

to it is B-14.01703. The Company is governed under the various Acts and Rules applicable

to a Registered NBFC in India. Microfinance serves as an umbrella term that describes the

provision of banking services by poverty-focused financial institutions to poor parts of the

population that are not being served by mainstream financial services providers.

• AMFPL recognizes that the working poor can act in an entrepreneurial manner and


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are, in principle, creditworthy. For these micro-borrowers, microcredit is often the only

alternative to paying excessive interest rates charged by unofficial moneylenders. They use

financial services not only for business investment in their micro-enterprises but also to

invest in health and education, to take care of household emergencies, and to meet the wide

variety of other cash needs that they encounter. Access to financial services enables poor

people to increase their household incomes, build assets, and reduce their vulnerability to

the crises that are so much a part of their daily lives.

• Products & Services offered:

Loan products currently offered by Arth are two wheeler loan, three wheeler loans, used

wheeler loan and personal loan. Company also offers loan for income generating activities.

4.1.11 Suryoday Micro Finance Foundation

About Organization:

• Suryoday Microfinance is a registered Non-Banking Finance Company, engaged in

providing loans to women from economically weaker sections, below poverty line and the

marginal poor who do not have access to traditional banking, with an objective to reduce

poverty in its area of operation.

• Suryoday, the sanskrit word for sunrise, signifies the dawn of a new beginning. This word

encompasses the objective of giving an impetus to the economically disadvantaged

women to make a fresh start by utilizing loans for income generating activities and

enabling sustainable socio-economic progress. Suryoday started operations in Pune in April

2009. Its investors include Aavishkaar Goodwell, LOK Capital and HDFC Group. Suryoday

has currently has its operations in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and

Andhra Pradesh.



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• They provide different vehicle loan, personal loan, insurance products, Remittance Facilities

and Multiple loan products.

4.1.12 Light Financial Services

About Organization:

• Light Financial Services aims to become the leading micro and meso finance products and

services provider. The company is driven by passionate team, effecting innovative and

efficient capital mobilization, product development and technology deployment to deliver

extremely reliable high touch customer service.

• Light Financial Services has the headquarter in Ahmedabad and has its initial focus on

Gujarat with the goal of rapidly expanding to other states in India. Organization has a gender

and poverty focused program, targeting rural and semi-urban areas, with a specific focus on

poor women. Light Microfinance is a private limited company registered as a Non-Banking

Finance Company (NBFC) with the Reserve Bank of India.


• Light started its operations with the most basic microfinance product – microcredit.

Loans are small ticket in nature and can range from Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 14,000 as per member

needs. The product characteristics are based on the standard Grameen model of one

principal payment repaid in 50 installments, each derived by breaking the principal and

interest components. A flat 12.5% rate is charged on loans. The effective annual rate comes

out to 24.55%. For example the loan principal of Rs. 10,000 will yield Rs. 11,250 by the

end of the year. Each installment comprises a Rs. 200 principal repayment component

along with Rs. 25 as Interest.


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4.1.13 SKS Microfinance Private Limited

About Organization:

• SKS Microfinance Pvt. Ltd, is the new generation microfinance company whose mission is

to help eradicate poverty by providing financial services to the poor. It has also launched its

operations in Gujarat.

• SKS started operations in 1998 in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. Today, SKS

reaches over 10 lakhs poor households across 16000 villages and slums in 13 states. Gujarat

is the 13th State where SKS has started operations in. It has begun work in Dahod which is

among the 200 poorest districts in India. SKS has reached to 2600 households by 2007 and

1,00,000 households in 2010 in Gujarat. SKS has disbursed over Rs 1200 crores loans with

a 99% repayment and it also provides a life insurance product through the Life Insurance

Corporation of India. SKS is one of the fastest growing MFI. In 2009, SKS registered a

200% growth rate. SKS aims to reach 5 million poor households by 2010.


• It offers loan and insurance products. Income generating loan (Aarambh) is given to the

members in the beginning of the 50 week loan period. Mid Term loan (Vriddhi) is given

when the member is 25 week into the loan cycle. The maximum loan granted is 20,000 and

the interest rate charged is 28%. Repayments have to be made on a weekly basis. Additional

loan named Raksha of Rs. 2,000 is given at 0% interest rate to the clients to avoid defaulting.

• Members who successfully complete one loan cycle become eligible to take the Individual

Loan Product Sanjeevini which does not require a group guarantee. This loan can be up to

Rs.40,000. It also offers a loan insurance cover for all its members and their spouse. The

loan cover fee is 1% of the loan amount and the policy covers the entire loan amount with

interest for the term of the loan or one year. In the case of a client or spouse death, the loan

amount outstanding is written off and the principal paid is returned to the client's nominee.


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4.1.14 Janalakshmi Financial Services Limited

About Organization:

• Janalakshmi Financial Services is a for-profit NBFC serving the urban underserved, with the

promoter stake held in the not-for-profit entity Janalakshmi Social Services. This is the only

NBFC in India structured in such a manner, with the deliberate intent of keeping the social

spirit intact. Janlakshmi’s market-based approach to financial inclusion has three distinct

characteristics, firstly, an exclusive focus on servicing the needs of the urban poor; secondly,

a strong customer-value driven approach in designing financial products and services and

finally, the centrality of technology and processes as the foundation of a scalable enterprise.

It launched its new initiative JanaOne, in 2012, a one-stop shop aimed at providing financial

assistance to the country's base-of the-pyramid population.

• Mission of the organization is to emerge as a full scale financial services provider for the

Indian sub prime sector. The sector includes the urban poor as well as the larger segment that

has difficulty in accessing financial services. They have poor savings instruments and

minimal coverage of other financial products like insurance and integrated services.


• Janalakshmi has built a suite of financial products encompassing credit, savings and

insurance products. It also started providing financial advisory services, such as savings

and pension plans, to existing Janalakshmi customers who have been with the MFI for two

years and more, and have a successful repayment record over two group loan cycles. The

MFI will disburse individual loans ranging between Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh, at interest rates

between 24% and 28%. Rates charged l depends on the nature of the loan, the loan period

and the security given.


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4.1.15 Gujarat Livelihood Promotion Company (GLPC)

About Organization:

• GLPC is the executive arm of Mission Mangalam, the implementation agency for

NRLM. It has been registered under The Companies Act, 1956. GLPC works through

strategic partnership between large industries and Sakhi Mandals, Self Help Groups,

Producer Groups, Service Groups, Collectives of the poor, through decentralized Micro

Enterprise Ventures.

• The mission is to create a socio-economically developed Gujarat through inclusive

growth strategies for empowering the underprivileged members of vulnerable communities

and groups, resulting in them leading a dignified life. The vision is to ensure through

participatory means and by convergence of prevalent government developmental schemes.

It strives to serve the underprivileged women as well as members of vulnerable

communities and groups in the state by organizing and capacitating their Groups and

creating sustainable livelihoods.


• GLPC offers four services i.e. Aajeevika – Skill development Project (National

Rural Livelihood Mission-NRLM), Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana, Mission

Mangalam and Aajeevika – National Rural Livelihood Mission.

• The core belief of Aajeevika-NRLM is that the poor have innate capabilities and a

strong desire to come out of poverty. This inner capability of the poor would come out only

when they are organized into institutions which are truly owned by them, provided

sufficient capacity building and handholding support. The implementation of NRLM is

essential as it would enable (a) focus on targets, outcomes and time bound delivery (b) shift

from the present allocation based strategy to a demand driven strategy enabling the states to

formulate their own poverty reduction action plans, and (c) monitoring against targets of

poverty outcomes. To harness the multiple growth opportunities arising out of the positive

developmental strides, 'Mission Mangalam' was introduced with an integrated poverty


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alleviation approach. Its aim is to bring the critical mass of resources to address poverty by

creating a single platform for stakeholders like Banks, Industry Partners, Micro Finance

Institutes and Skill Imparting Institutions, etc. to deliver desired outcomes. It has build

federations of SHGs, and register them as formal institutions and set up MIS and

innovative Monitoring systems.

• Women in Agriculture are generally not able to access extension services and

production assets like seed, water, credit, subsidy etc. To improve the present status of

women in Agriculture, and to enhance the opportunities for her empowerment, Government

of India has announced "Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana" (MKSP), as a sub

component of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and provided support of Rs.

100 crore.

4.1.1 Shivia Microfinance

About Organization:

• Shivia Microfinance (Section 25 company) provides training and capital to needy

communities so that they can start up or engage in market-driven, sustainable enterprises.

Our entire focus is on poverty alleviation and making a socio-economic impact. Livelihood

programme was launched in 2003 and focuses on providing business toolkits, training,

support and the necessary finance to start specific market-driven enterprises. Trust is

passionate about the services being offered and have been working in these communities

through efforts over the last 12 years.

• The mission is the provision of financial assistance, technical assistance or business advice

or consultancy in order to provide training and employment opportunities for unemployed

people


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• Loan products currently offered by Shivia Microfinance are, two wheeler loan, three

wheeler loans, used wheeler loan and personal loan. Company also offers loan for income

generating activities.

4.1.17 Nidan Micro Finance Foundation (NMFF)

About Organization:

• Nidan promotes the saving habit and makes credit accessible through various

Financial Institutions, both Government and Non Governmental. Through 4,688 self-help

groups, NMFF reaches out to 58,888 members in 25 blocks of six districts of Bihar for

different micro finance and micro credit services. Regarding micro finance related

activities, Nidan considered to pioneer as it was the first organization in Gujarat which

initiated various micro finance related activities in the state. In spite of various limitations

and hurdles, Nidan took the responsibility to support the society in its social objectives

through micro-finance activities.

• With the time, NMFF has evolved as an inclusive business enterprise to ensure easy

access to credit services among the poor for their entrepreneurial and social empowerment.

It has helped them to tide over the crises caused by uncertain credit availability. It has

helped budding micro- entrepreneurs through development and promotion of Micro-

enterprises. Considering its social and financial implication, Nidan has made a long term

plan for the strengthening and expansion of this portfolio.

• The Nidan Microfinance programme received biggest boost when it got

Microfinance fund support from Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK). In the same year Nidan

got fund from ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. This was the time, when Nidan was trying to

establish itself as a self-sustainable Microfinance Institution. Having spread 6 districts with

58000 members Nidan portfolio does not increased as per expectations due to lack of issue

based Micro-Finance policy, since there is no specific policy regarding the Microfinance


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with respect to lending from Bankers and Financial Institutions.

• In spite of policy and Infrastructure bottlenecks, Nidan managed to achieve its

social objectives as Nidan Microfinance programme is a community based pursuance.

Nidan Microfinance Programme is by the community for the community and of the

community. NMFF plans to introduce more products and services like remittances, short

term loans to cater the seasonal markets etc in near future. It has to be ensured that new

product introduction should not increase the administrative cost of maintaining MIS,

repayment collection or training of Organizers.


• Nidan realized that without insurance coverage, members are much exposed to risk

which disrupts their livelihood. Nidan began insurance program in 1999 by linking

members with LIC and NIC; but later went on to various tie ups adding many products

including asset insurance. They also started individual insurance in 2001 with LIC and

added products like Jeevan Madhur and Jeevan Mangal. They also began the pension

scheme of UTI and formed Self- Help Groups and Thrift and Credit Co-operatives. They

also plan to start remittance services for their members.

4.1.18 Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited

About Organization:

• Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited micro credit and credit pus services to low

income households. The aim is to deliver quality services to clients, by reaching out to

their doorstep, through on-roll staff and by maintaining highest levels of transparency and

integrity.

• The word ‘spandana’ stands for ‘responsiveness’. After transformation into an

NBFC, Spandana added the following phrases to its name – Sphoorty Financial Services.

Sphoorty stands for ‘inspiration’ – this exemplifies the growth of Spandana in provision of

larger bouquet of financial services to larger client base.


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• The products offered by Spandana are general loans, micro enterprise loan,

individual loan, income generating loan, and farm equipment loan.

• In general loan, option of weekly repayments ensures that the clients can save a

little from their daily cash-flows and do not face repayment stress. Loans are used for cash

flow smoothening, predominantly for productive purposes.

• The interest rates for this product is 13.2% flat, this translates into approximately

26% on annual declining basis. An additional 1% is charged upfront that makes the annual

effective charges as 28.2%. This helps the clients to avoid spending time on weekly

meetings while at the same time enjoy the benefits of sustained credit supply by virtue of

peer pressure based repayment discipline.

• Micro Enterprise Loan, the interest rates is 26% on annual declining basis. An

additional 1% is charged upfront that makes the annual effective charges as 28%.

• For the Farm Equipment loan, interest rate for this product is 19-25% on annual

declining basis. Rates charged for used equipment is higher while it is lower for new

equipment. An additional 1-2% is charged upfront. The effective rate ranges to about 29%

but varies depending upon the used/ new equipment, loan tenor and frequency of

repayment chosen by the borrower.

4.1.19 Asmitha Microfin Limited

About Organization:

• Asmitha Microfin Limited (AML) began lending activities in July 2002 by

providing rural poor women access to financial resources in the form of collateral free

small loans for income generation and livelihood promotion. This enabled them to set-off

small start up businesses, which soon can be translated into adequate nutrition, medical and


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education. With increased enterprise focus, low-income women become economic agents

intrinsic to development rather than simply homemakers.

• The company is registered with the Reserve Bank of India under Sec 45 I (A) and

obtained non deposit taking NBFC (Non Banking Financial Company) certificate No. N:

N-09.00401 dated 7th June 2002. In accordance with the December 2, 2011 notification

issued by RBI; Asmitha falls under the category of “NBFC-MFI”.

• The objective of the organization is to mobilize resources in order to provide small

loans to poor women, to establish sustainable income generating business enterprises. The

vision is to empower rural poor women, by helping them undertake viable business

enterprises to help themselves to come out of poverty.


• The products offered by AML are General Loan, Micro Enterprise Loan, Personal

Loans and Farm Equipment Loans.

4.1.20 India School of Microfinance for Women

About Organization:

• The Indian School of Microfinance for Women (ISMW), started in June 2003. The School

focuses upon the lives of women who are the primary participants in microfinance

interventions. The objective of the school is to remove poverty, develop means for women’s

leadership and building women’s assets. It also focuses on the research part.

• The motto is to emerge as a unique school, to strengthen and spread microfinance as a

strategy for poverty alleviation through development of appropriate knowledge and skilled

human resources.


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4.1.21 Ananya Finance for Inclusive Growth Pvt. Limited

About Organization:

• Ananya Finance came into existence with the mission to support socially

responsible enterprises in India. Its origin lie in the wholesale lending programmes of

FWWB, India. Thus Annaya’s Board and senior leadership is dedicated to establish this

young organization as one of the champions in the realm of financial services for the

underprivileged.

• Ananya was incorporated as a Company in April 2009, and has received the Non-

banking finance company license from Reserve Bank of India. But the seeds of this

organization were planted several years back in the deliberations within FWWB’s board of

trustees. It was unanimously decided that a dedicated entity to set up to serve the society.

Being NBFC, a larger lending book with large capital base and supporting management

structure becomes easier to achieve.


• Ananya Finance offers Credit support to socially relevant enterprises at affordable

and competitive interest rates.

• The tenures vary between 6 months and 36 months. It also offers customized loan

products for community based organization and different livelihood oriented enterprises.

• It also provides Research and Advisory services. Ananya finance helps its partners

as well as non-partners in undertaking various types of research, using market research to

design programmes, market research to understand the needs, opportunities and preferences

of microfinance and micro-entrepreneurs, eventually helping the organizations in

developing appropriate products and services, Gap analysis in an organization to help them

build / streamline their processes, Short impact assessments to assess the impact of the

products offered and Case studies, sharing of best practices.


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4.1.22 Virmati’s mFin Solution

About Organization: Virmati’s mFin Solution is a highly robust, easy to deploy and use,

solution designed for the Micro-Finance Institutions, Credit Society and such financial

institutions. The mFin Suite covers the most basic and relevant modules to cater the

operations and yet achieve modular expansion with changing business trends.

4.1.23 Pahal Financial Services Private Limited (PFSPL)

About Organization:

• PFSPL provides sustainable services for financial inclusion in urban, semi urban

and rural areas, with proficiency, at an affordable price and maintaining dignity, honor and

transparency.

• The vision is to reach micro credit to 2,50,000 clients at comparative rates, achieve

internationally acceptable returns on investments to attract mainstream capital in the

service of the segment at the bottom of the pyramid. PFSPL achieved operational break

even for the year ending 31st March 2012, achieved CRISIL grading of 'mfR4' for the

financial year 2013-14 and crossed 40,000 borrowers for the period ending December,

2013.


• The products offered by PFSPL are general loans, individual loan and insurance product. The

loan amount for general loan is ranging between Rs. 12,000 to 40,000. IRR of Qualifying

portfolio is 29.99% p.a on Reducing Balance (Including Processing Fees). The loan amount

for individual loan is ranging between Rs 35,000 to 2, 00,000. Interest rate is 30% with 2%

additional processing charges.


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4.1.24 Visak Foundation

About Organization:

• Visak is an advisory financial services provider, acting as converging point solution

under one root to cater to all corporate or starving weaker fund seekers, be it domestic or

global clientele in an authentic, quality and time bound reliable manner so as to be the

catalyst to their growth, even in most competitive economic scenario.

• The objective is to provide financial services both credit and savings to poor in

rural, semi-urban and urban areas. Visak is actively engaged in mass poor upliftment by the

mode of Micro Financing. It also provides advisory services to both the buyer side and the

seller side as a part of our M & A advisory offerings. This service is provided to both

domestic as well as international clients.


• Visak Foundation offers supportive services like savings and credit, health care, insurance

and legal aid that are important for poors. The interest rate charged 26-29%.

4.1.25 Equitas Foundation

About Organization:

• Equitas has provided microfinance services to more than 80 thousand low income

women with a current loan portfolio of Rs.912 Million INR.

• Equitas was established in 1992, by a group of professionals in Kerela with a

mission to create opportunities for social and economic growth of the marginalized sections

of the society through the promotion of sustainable and integrated livelihood options. In

1995, it started its Micro Enterprise Development program in three villages of Thrissur

district, capitalizing on microfinance as an effective mean for poverty eradication and


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employment creation. ESAF Microfinance rapidly expanded in most districts of Kerala and

in many parts of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

• In August 2007 the microfinance operations were transformed into a Non-Banking

Financial Company. The vision is to be a sustainable, professionally managed and

transparent institution providing financial services with the emphasis on economic

development and empowerment of the poor and the marginalized sections of the poor.

• The mission is to make positive impact on the lives of more than 1 million low

income families by 2015 by offering them exclusive financial service along with other

services like healthcare, education, housing and livelihood support.


• Organization provides microloans to the clients for income generation purpose and

consumption purpose as well. Members are also part of Social security Schemes and

Business development services (offered by the Group Entities) such as training, setting up

of training cum production centers and marketing. Its integrated business model creates

opportunities to the socially and economically challenged women and men to enable them

to operate their own productive economic activities.

• Lending approach is group loans and individual loans. The services provided are

Full-scale Financial Services, Business Development Services, Health, Education,

Insurance, Fund Transfer Services and Research & Development.

4.1.26 Arohan Financial Services Private Limited

About Organization:

• Arohan Financial Services Private Limited is a for-profit Non-Bank Financial

Company which began operations in 2002 and has since become one of the leading and


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most transparent MFIs in India. In 2010 Arohan won the MFI of the Year award at the

Microfinance India Summit as well as the Srijan Microfinance Transparency award. The

organization has provided over Rs 4 billion in loans since inception.

• It primarily focused on meeting the needs of socio-economically disadvantaged

clients in the Western India. Arohan currently operates in the states of Gujarat, Madhya

Pradesh and Maharashtra. The objective is to provide financial services to the socio-

economically disadvantaged segments of society in a sustainable manner, through the

provision of a wide range of financial services and other support services.


• As a part of the organization’s commitment to client care, Arohan offers loan

insurance cover as well as personal injury and accident insurance. Based on a successful

track record, Arohan plans to expand into the states of Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh over

the next 24 months.

• Arohan’s target clients are women engaged in income generating activities, small

market vendors trading in commercial clusters and MSME or SME entrepreneurs. Arohan

has a tailored loan product available to meet each client’s individual requirements and, as

such, applies both the joint group lending and individual lending approach. They provide

income generating loans and micro entrepreneur loans.

Table 1: List of MFI and type of Legal Entity

Sr. No. MIFs Type of Legal Entity

1 Gujarat State Womens SEWA co-op Federation ltd. Society

2 Women Empowerment Corporation Section 25 Company


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3 Saath Charitable Trust Trust

4 Samerth Trust Trust

5 MAS Financial Services Limited NBFC

6 Unnati Foundation Society

7 Udgam Charitable Trust Trust

8 Arman Financial Services Limited NBFC

9 Disha Microfinance limited NBFC

10 Arth Microfinance Private Limited (AMFPL) NBFC

11 Suryoday Micro Finance Pvt. Limited Society

12 Light Financial Services NBFC

13 SKS Microfinance Private Limited NBFC

14 Janalakshmi Financial Services Limited NBFC

15 Gujarat Livelihood Promotion Company (GLPC) Section 25 Company

16 Shivia Microfinance Section 25 Company

17 Nidan Micro Finance Foundation (NMFF) Society

18 Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltd NBFC

19 Asmitha Microfin Limited NBFC

20 Indian School of Microfinance for Women Society

21 Ananya Finance for Inclusive Growth Pvt. Limited NBFC

22 Virmati’s mFin Solution Society

23 Pahal Financial Services Private Limited (PFSPL) NBFC

24 Visak Foundation Society

25 Equitas Society

26 Arohan Cooperative Federation Society

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