"Our social conscience starts and ends with our customer being the not fully serviced or the poor as many may call them, everything else about us is like a bank - pioneering, innovative, deploying traditional market principles, etc."- Mr. Ramesh Ramanathan
After a delicious lunch served at BMSIT on a banana leaf people left to the different theme based trips based on their choices. For most this was a continuation of the talk delivered by Ramesh Ramanathan, the founder of ‘Janalakshmi’ or 'People’s wealth' which is a microfinance institution. We were first welcomed by the Area head who briefed us on what Janalakshmi is all about. He said the micro financing works by first approaching potential customers who are typically from economically weaker sections. There are groups of about 15 formed with each person being a guarantor for the other, i.e. if a particular month’s installment is not paid by any person then the others pitch in for that person and later can collect it back as the members of the groups usually consist of people who know each other personally and live within 200 meters of each other.
We later interacted with 6 clients. A large percentage of the clients are women and the people we were about to interact with were a part of one of the many 15 member women groups.
They patiently answered all the questions without once indicating any kind of discomfort but extreme confidence. The first question asked as what they needed the money borrowed for to which we got various replies which included enlarging their small businesses (which may be petty shops or small saree shops) , personal loans taken to improve standard of living, for the children’s education,etc.
Below are some of the other questions asked and the responses we got.
“How did you know of Janalaksmi?”
…We were approached by the members of the organization and were glad to here of the schemes as previously we had to pay exorbitant rates of interests and banks would not provide us with loans to run our small businesses.
“How do you feel as working women and do you take help or include other members in your family to handle the finances.”
…We feel independent and some of us are the primary bread winners of the family. We independently handle the finances and do not include other members of the family in the decision making.
“What dreams do you have for you children?”
…We have not studied much due to financial reasons. At young ages we were married of to the person our parent’s chose for us. Now we want to ensure our children are educated and can go on to becoming successful in their lives and will not have to face the struggles we have.
“Do you feel you would have been better of not working and having a lot more free time?”
…We enjoy work as it gives us our independence and identity. We rather be working than not!
By the end of the interaction everyone was filled with admiration for the courage the women possessed. We were also amazed by the organization itself which is progressing in leaps and bounds towards its vision of seeking to move beyond the narrow definition of micro credit to broad-based microfinance encompassing a range of financial services including savings, insurance, and pension to be offered to individuals and group.
The entire interaction was certainly one filled with open communication and mutual respect. After having thanked them for their time and effort we returned to the hotel. With the rest of the day off many were looking forward to go shopping in “Namma Bengaluru”.
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