Satara bank empowers rural women

Four years ago, Sunita Khatate's in-laws threw her out of her home. Her "crime": The three children born to her were girls. Her parents took her back but that was of little help. Sunita was a school dropout and her family poverty-stricken. She had to find some means to support herself and her children.

The solution came in the form of a small loan given by Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank in Maharashtra's Satara district. With the loan, Sunita was able to buy a sewing machine. Today, she earns enough for herself and her daughters and even helps her parents.

This is not all "" Sunita is now associated with Mann Deshi Udyogini, an arm of the bank that gives vocational education to underprivileged women in Mhaswad and Vaduj tehsils in Satara. Udyogini provides technical training to women in making bags, tailoring and preparing basic food items with shelf life, in order to make them self-sufficient.

Mann Deshi Udyogini's work has been noticed by none other than Naina Lal Kidwai, group general manager and country head, HSBC. Kidwai, the first Indian woman graduate of Harvard Business School, has given Rs 7 lakh to Udyogini as start-up funding from HSBC. She wants to support Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank and Udyogini and in turn, wants the bank to act as HSBC's micro finance arm.

Kidwai has also got over a dozen of her colleagues to volunteer with the Udyogini trainees and teach them the nuances of running a business. "Each of them has agreed to spend up to 100 hours for such projects," said Kidwai.

In Udyogini, HSBC sees future promoters of micro finance loans. Therefore, HSBC has extended corresponding bank status to Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank, which has four branches and 4,600 members. This will help identify borrowers for microfinance schemes. Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank will extend microfinance assistance to its members to undertake activities in self-employment, for which HSBC has extended financial support of Rs 45 lakh.

"Udyogini will provide technical as well as marketing skills to rural women and young girls with no formal education. This will help them start small enterprises," said Chetana Gala-Sinha, founder and chairperson, Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank.

The institute would also help the women in financial literacy and soft skills, which would, in turn, help them become confident, she added.

Gala-Sinha said the courses taught there would be of three weeks to six months duration and would be certified by Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank.

"We are also trying to get the state government to certify us as a vocational training institute," she said. This certificate will act as a qualification for a bank loan.

Udyogini will train 180 women in the first year and step up this number to 350 a year from next year.

For more, visit https://bsmedia.business-standard.comwww.manndeshi.org/