Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank Project
The Need
Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank (Mann Deshi Bank) is a licensed cooperative bank in Maharashtra run “by and for women.” Founded in 1997 by Ashoka Fellow Chetna Gala Sinha, Mann Deshi Bank specializes in micro-loans as seed funding for women entrepreneurs in rural communities. Mann Deshi Bank has expanded its total assets by fifty times over the last nine years, and now serves 50,000 women through seven bank branches.
Mann Deshi Bank's goal is to expand to 250,000 clients over the next five years. The most significant limits to the bank's growth are the following:
- Security: Widespread passbook theft (theft of a client's combined deposit record and checkbook, usually by their husband) and fraud (from independent lenders contracted out by the bank) results in 'leakage' or unaccounted money loss.
- Accuracy: Manual recording of loans and transactions is error-prone and unreliable.
- Efficiency: Agents are unable to administer loans in a timely manner due to cumbersome manual-entry process. The lack of a central information source creates a disincentive for agents to travel repeatedly to the more remote regions targeted in the bank's scaling plan.
The Goal
Mann Deshi Bank seeks to apply smart card technology into its banking infrastructure, as a substitute for paper passbook and manual data entry. “Smart card” is a generic term for any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits that allow for electronic data storage. DtM has partnered with Mann Deshi Bank to research and implement “smart card” technology to address these issues.
The bank would issue each client their own personal smart card, which would store all of their relevant financial information in one convenient format. Bank loan agents with portable smart card readers would be able to quickly scan clients' information and administer loans on the spot. This would remove the need for time-consuming paperwork in documentation, and would spare the loan agents from having to make a round trip to the central bank to approve each loan. Loan agents would be able to reach more clients, thus improving their earnings and incentives (most work on commission). Clients would be able to more accurately track their savings, spend less administrative time with lenders, and have a more secure way of retaining their savings. The bank would benefit through increased scale and deposit base.
The Client: Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank
Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank (Mann Deshi Bank) is a licensed cooperative bank in Maharashtra run "by and for women." Founded in 1997 by Ashoka Fellow Chetna Gala Sinha, Mann Deshi Bank specializes in micro-loans as seed funding for women entrepreneurs in rural communities. In collaboration with its NGO branch (Mann Vikas Samajik Sanstha), Mann Deshi Bank has created a service that empowers women through loans and provides the social support network necessary to ensure sustainable results.
