Micro loans can change lives
Panchee works with grass root partners who help identify prospective borrowers and help in disbursing the loan and managing repayments. Since we lend at the grassroot level, we are able to witness first-hand how a woman’s financial independence has a ripple effect on her family. Changing her standard of living and giving her a larger voice in the community.
Currently, Panchee has two partners: Suyoga Vividoddeshagala Sahakara Sangha Niyamitha (SVSSN) in Haveri, Karnataka and Rang De in Bangalore. These lending partners manage the identification of these Self Help Groups (SHGs). SVSSN manages SHGs, loan documentation, disbursements as well as repayment on Panchee’s behalf. The list of women looking for loans is shared and the Panchee team selects women based on various factors who will benefit from these loans. The unique nature of this model highlights the sisterhood and camaraderie, among the members, if one of the members is unable to repay her share of the loan for any reason, the others members come together to help her. The Self Help Group model has proven to be very effective with almost 99% repayment rate.
The loans are mainly used for livelihood. Setting up micro enterprises like a small tea shop, a kirana store, a flour mill, to buy a sewing machine for tailoring, purchase a cow for the sale of milk, are a few examples. These women pay back the loans from the proceeds of the business.
While this may not always be possible, Panchee prefers partners who are willing to provide Panchee the ability to meet and discuss borrower’s experiences directly with them. Semi-annual / annual meetings with partners and borrowers are planned, to visit the beneficiaries and see the impact Panchee’s loans have made.
Rang De
Rang De is a Peer to Peer lending platform, recently registered as an Non-Banking Finance Corporation. Socially-minded investors go onto the platform, select the borrower they want to lend to. The amount does not matter, and the loan is repaid in 12 or 18 months. Many of the borrowers are small-time farmers, labourer's, micro-business owners, looking to setup a small business, like a tea stall, flower shop, bangle shop, tailoring, etc. A common first-time business is sheep and goat-rearing.
Sheela Maurya
Sheela Maurya of Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh embodies the spirit of resilience and ambition. For over two years, she has nurtured a thriving retail store, providing a diverse array of goods to her community. Sheela's journey is a testament to hard work, ambition, and unwavering bravery. Sheela extends her reach beyond her shop, serving as a door-to-door seller, offering bangles, gift materials, women's garments, and warm woolen clothes. Our investment in Sheela has empowered a courageous entrepreneur, who not only sustains her family but also
brightens the lives of her community.
Siddamma Shivanna
The last few months have been very fruitful for Siddamma. She utilized the loan of ₹10,000 for the purchase of a variety of seeds and labor costs for tilling the land during the sowing season. To ensure that she has a bountiful and pest-free yield, Siddamma also purchased fertilizers and paid for transportation of the same. With an increase in her produce, Siddamma has seen an increase in her monthly income by Rs 1250. Siddamma is an ambitious farmer. She wishes to grow her business further in the future. She wants to purchase some cows with the profit she earned from this season. This will give her an additional income.
“My dream is to develop my land and grow my business.”
SVSSN
Suyoga Vividoddeshagala Sahakara Sangha Niyamitha is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), in Haveri District, North Karnataka, dedicated to assisting underprivileged individuals in society to improve their quality of life.
SVSSN manages the identification of borrowers, loan documentation, disbursements as well as collecting loan repayment on Panchee’s behalf. The list of women looking for loans is shared with the Panchee team who selects borrowers based on various factors.
Revati Yallari
Revati Yallari was a house-wife before she connected with SVSSN. She is now the main bread winner of her family. She is from a backward poor family who do not have any agricultural land or other valuable assets. Her husband works as an agricultural laborer. She has two children, and with no other income, she was struggling a lot to run a family.
She ran a small Provision shop. We were able to provide her with a loan of Rs.40000 which she used to to increase the range of products she sells. Her income of Rs 800 to 1000 a day allows her to take care of her family and provide a good education for her children.
In the future, Revati plans to have a larger scale provision shop.
Bebakka Siddoji
Bebakka Siddoji is from an agricultural background. Her family owns 1 acre of land. Her husband and son both work on this land. However, the income from this land is not sufficient for the family so Bebakka started cow and buffalo farming 6 years ago. The family planned to buy one or two more cows and reached out to SVSSN to get support. When Bebakka got to understand how the lending process works, she joined the SHG module and started saving with SVSSN.
In February 2024 she wished to buy a buffalo, with the financial support they received they were able to do so. Now their family income has increased, and they are happy for this growth with the SVSSN support.
