AAMARA BISWAS (India) WOMEN HELPING WOMEN THROUGH NANO FINANCE October 2, 2013 Presentation by Joyasree (Ranu) Mahanti

Annual Fund-raising Dinner, Sept 21, 2013

Annual Fund-raising Dinner, Sept 21, 2013

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance To relieve poverty among women and girls through Nano Finance. Aamara Biswas provides interest-free small loans ($10 to $20), which they can pay back comfortably in one year. The loans can be used for emergency needs, livelihoods, children’s education, and basic healthcare. Without such loans, millions of very low-income women when faced with emergencies, are left with no alternative but to borrow from money lenders charging 10 to 50% interest per month and requiring repayment of the entire principal at once. It is nearly impossible for these women to save enough to return the principal at once, which results in an endless cycle of indebtedness. To end this vicious cycle through Nano Financing. Aamara Biswas does not intend to make these women financially rich, but gives them an opportunity to fulfill their most basic needs.

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance Nano Finance is NOT Micro Finance. Individual small interest-free loans ($10 to $20) only to women. On-site coordinators, with minimum education but a great understanding of the local living conditions, manage these simple loan transactions. Minimum paper work and a short waiting period to get loans; only condition- no prior outstanding loan with Aamara Biswas. No middle person is involved in these loan transactions. Loan payback period is one year with the option of paying in installments. No pre-payment penalties! Minimum initial investment gets multiplied in no time due to re-circulation of the repaid loan amounts. Women tend to team-up and work together for securing larger loans for bigger projects, more profit and financial security. Loans are made respecting human dignity and repayments are made without any forceful action. The system thrives on TRUST! What is Nano Finance?

How Micro Finance (MF) is Different from Nano Finance (NF) Most of the women who take loan from micro finance institution don’t understand the complexity and consequences of the system and they commit to many such loans at one time. Many women come to our center to take loan without interest for paying back their micro finance loan to avoid severe penalty. Micro Finance Institution (MF) Nano Finance Institution (NF) Getting a loan from MFI (or an NGO) requires satisfying several rules and regulations, which are not very practical or helpful to poor people for emergency needs and for small loans. Do not have to go through much paper work and/or rigid rules and regulations for getting small loans for their emergency needs. Gives mostly group loans for businesses to both men and women. All the group members are responsible for the paying back of the loan in time. The transaction goes through many steps. Gives small loans (up to Rs 2000) to only women. and individually responsible for the payment of the loan. No middleman involved in the transaction. Due to the complexity of the system, high overhead and managed by many people with higher education. Very low overhead and managed by a few women with minimum education. MFI and most of the NGO(s) borrow money from the banks to give loans to the people with high interest. It sustains with the earnings from the interest rate. It sustains through the collection by recycling the returned money, grants and donations. Micro financing can be profit making venture for the non-profit organization. The only interest is to help the poor women and it is not a profit making venture. An MFI can be successful and financially benefited to an NGO without truly helping to the most poor women of the society. The success of nano finance depends on the net-working of the women with trust. Helping poor through MFI can be only practiced by Institution or non-profit organizations with big financial investment. Helping poor women through the Nano Finance concept can be practiced by anyone who truly wants to help the poor even with a very small initial investment

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance The success of Nano Finance depends on the crucial work of local coordinators who may be dissatisfied with the low pay. Coordinators may exhibit lack of trustworthiness. Loss of records when a coordinator leaves, due to the current practice of manual record keeping. The organization must find ways to remain sustainable in the long-run. Some of the Challenges

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance Recirculation of Initial Investments

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance “Bringing Them Wealth” In the last 5 years, Aamara Biswas has helped more than 7,000 women through Nano Financing. Here are some examples of how 10-dollar loans have improved these women’s financial situations in a year or two. Geeta from Khamara said Aamara Biswas has brought them wealth. Many women now have savings of $200 or more in two years. She explained how they achieved that: Geeta and her friend borrowed $20 ($10 each) for buying saplings for cucumber farming. In 3 months, they both made $80. They repaid the $20 loan and borrowed another $40 ($20 each) for buying saplings for eggplants. They both made $100, paid back the $40 loan, and borrowed another $40. After taking out 4 to 5 interest-free loans, each of them now have savings of $200 in the bank.

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance “Giving Them Strength & Power” Sabita and her friends took $10 each to buy seeds for lentils farming. They returned their loans in 4 months and took another $20 loan each for Rice farming. In less than a year, Sabita and 10 more women took loans ($20 each) for buying a rice thrashing machine for their own use and for rental purpose. Each of them saved some money and asked for buying sewing machines and fabrics to start a production unit in January 2012. 30 women took a loan of $600 ($20 each) and started their business jointly. Sabita from Jagatsingpur tells: Aamara Biswas has given her and her friends strength and power; they are not scared of their husbands any more. They have their own savings in the bank. Now the husbands are asking their wives for financial help. In my last visit in 2013, Sabita asked for a loan to buy a tractor with others.

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance An Empowered Woman = An Empowered Household After taking loans of $10 and $20 for her coconut business, with the profits Suna has started a small shop and has been able to send her son to school. Now Suna takes loans for bricks. Suna now has multiple small businesses in less than 3 years.

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance An Empowered Woman = An Empowered Household In March 2012, I visited this family. Their livelihood depends on making special type of baskets. Aamara Biswas gave interest free loans of $40 to 4 women of the family ($10 each). After paying back the loans in 4 months, they took the second loan of $80 ($20 each). I met them in December 2012. The wife said that they made enough money to buy beds, to send their children to school, to get their daughter married, and to put away $200 in the bank. I did not understand how this happened. She explained to me…

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance Here is How the Numbers Multiply… One Bamboo stick costs $1 20 baskets are made out of 1 Bamboo stick Each basket is sold for 75 cents 20 X $0.75= $15 First time loan = $40 (four women, $10 each) 40 X 20 X 0.75 = $600 Total profit = $600 - $40 = $560 Second time loan = $80 (same four women, $20 each) 80 X 20 X $0.75 = $1,200 Total profit = $1,200 – $80 = $1,120 Total profit in 10 months = $560 + $1,120 = $1,680

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance Kiakata Training Center About 50 girls got the training in sewing. Most of them have started earning some money for themselves. Aamara Biswas has started a small store from the profit of selling ladies’ garments. The one training room has become a multipurpose room. A little financial uplift has changed the environment of this village. The girls are better dressed and are dreaming of bigger, better things in their lives!

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance Jagatsingpur Training Center After getting training in sewing and starting to earn money, the girls tell that they don’t want to get married unless they have enough savings in the bank. They want to help their parents. Some of them have bought their own sewing machines by saving and taking loans from Aamara Biswas. Their hard work and tenacity have given them strength and hope for the future. Aamara Biswas holds their hands to give them support when they need it.

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance Currently Nano Finance projects are implemented in more than 35 villages and in one urban area: Sambalpur town and surrounding villages in the State of Odisha, India. Kiakata training and production center. Jagatsingpur training and production center. Purusottampur training and production center. Drinking water project in the villages of Jagatsingpur district. Current / Active Projects

AAMARA BISWAS Women Helping Women Through Nano Finance Extend the availability of Nano Finance to different areas of the state of Odisha and other areas of India. Expand the training centers so that more women can be served. Create a small fund for higher education of girls in Aamara Biswas villages. Establish a low cost sanitary napkin making unit. Publish a coffee table book with pictures and recipes of the women of Aamara Biswas to share with the world. Explore the idea of implementing Nano Finance concept in other parts of the world. In the future, we hope to