Catalina and I were lucky enough to visit Swadhaar’s Chembur branch last week and catch a group loan disbursement in action. Four female microentrepreneurs signed for their first loan and we captured it on video. As you’ll see, the women got dressed up to come to the modest Chembur office for a momentous day in the course of their microenterprise.
Below watch a short video of one of the women signing for her loan. Just like loans in the US she has to sign and initial several pages. Right before she signed the Swadhaar Administrative Assistant thoroughly explained the terms of the loan, so the clients understand exactly what they are getting into. However, that part was all explained in Hindi, so I edited it out for our mainly English speaking audience. In the interest of full transparency, feel free to email me if you’re interested in seeing the full video.
Unlike Swadhaar’s Individual Business Loans, their Joint Liability Group Loan product is exclusively for female borrowers. These loans range from Rs. 6,000 – 34,000 or roughly USD 125 – 725. That seemingly small amount can truly make a difference in the lives of women living and working in the slums of Mumbai. Access to credit allows a woman to get ahead by buying in bulk or having products delivered rather than wasting a day traveling to the market to purchase raw materials. Check out the video below to see these four successful businesswomen journey into the exciting world of credit and banking thanks to Swadhaar and ACCION.
The concept of microfinance can be a little difficult to grasp at times, so I hope these videos made it a bit more tangible.
Hope you enjoyed the videos,
Mariel
July 29, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Nice videos! Great that you captured this process. Alex