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Chetna Sinha’s Mahila Sahakari Bank: Transforming The Lives of Rural Women Through Financial Inclusion
EXCERPTS
ENTRY OF THE HERO
Sinha was born, brought up, and educated in Mumbai, considered India’s financial capital, and was involved in the Gandhian movement. She taught economics in Mumbai for a year and then got married to a farmer from Satara district. Coming from a large city, she was new to the rural environment and decided to pursue a career in farming. This was when she experienced first-hand one of the major challenges that rural women faced – lack of access to formal financial services. The concept and development of the idea of a financial institution emerged from her personal experiences in life. She found out that the condition of rural women was a far cry from that of women in the urban world... |
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MANN DESHI MAHILA SAHAKARI BANK
Sinha decided that a better and bigger form of financing was the need of the hour. “One day a woman told me that she wanted to open a bank account but the banks were not at all helpful. I went with her to a bank, and was told that her account was not viable for them. That is when we thought of starting a bank.”
CHALLENGES OVERCOME
Sinha and MDMSB had come a long way since its inception. Sinha, who came from an educated urban background, left no stone unturned to achieve her dream of serving a social need. There were definitely times when she faced frustration, but being the determined person she was, she continued with her endeavour. Apart from the common challenges of running a financial institution, Sinha had to cope up with the requirements of the rural women. She had to keep in mind the social and cultural fabric of the particular district as well.
IMPACTING LIVES
With the setting up of the MDMSB, the standard of living of the women in Satara district improved, allowing them to have better quality food and other amenities. They gained basic knowledge about finance, bank loans, and education. The women came to be considered the principal bread earners. The men of the households began taking them seriously and there was an increased investment in health and education of their families...
WORKING ON THE MODEL
Since 1997, MDMSB had spread its operations throughout the rural district of Maharashtra. From a deposit base of Rs 2.8 million in the first year, the bank had managed to grow at a coveted rate of 31% to Rs 400 million. In 2013, it had a loan book of Rs 276 million. But more importantly, it had managed to keep its net Non-Performing Assets (NPA) at 2.29%. The bank had a daily savings scheme in place which ultimately helped keep the risk of default in check...
EXHIBITS
Exhibit I : Trends in Deposits and Advances
Exhibit II : MDMSB’s Clientele
Exhibit III : Review of the E-Card launch Innovative Partnership between Mann Deshi and HSBC
Exhibit IV : MDMSB Branches
Exhibit V : Audited Profit and Loss Account for Financial Year 2014 (Amount Rupees in Lacs)
Exhibit VI : Audited Short Balance Sheet as on March 31st, 2014 (Amount Rupees in Lacs)
