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Urban
Slums in Delhi
PCI
India has delivered credit, savings, and business
training to over 2,000 clients in three urban slums
in New Delhi since 2002. Most clients are migrant
women from Bangladesh and neighboring states who
survive through ‘rag picking’ in city slums and
have no access to formal financial services.
To address this challenge, PCI India formed a local
association, known as Mahila Shakti Sangh, with
a community-elected board of directors. The association,
located in New Seemapuri, enables women’s Self Help
Groups to save and obtain loans, which helps them
support their children’s education and start small
businesses. As of March 2007, this initiative had
more than 2020 members and a corpus fund of more
than $65,000.
Microfinance
Institution for Rural Communities in Jaipur
 Based
on the Grameen model, PCI India’s Microfinance Institution
in Jaipur: 1) targets rural poor women; 2) delivers
financial services to them via trained staff who
facilitate successful participation and timely repayment
of loans; and 3) is quickly attaining financial
self-sufficiency, consistent with the overriding
goal of poverty-reduction.
As of March 2007, the Jaipur initiative has more
than 1400 active loan clients with an outstanding
loan portfolio of nearly $160,000. More than 100,000
borrowers are expected by 2015.
Microfinance
for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Pune and Salem
 A
top priority
for PCI India is to assist people living with HIV/AIDS
(PLHA) in supporting themselves and their families.
PCI India helps the poorest, most marginalized people
through a simple, flexible model of micro-enterprise
that consists of two primary components: business
training and easily-accessible business loans. PCI
India has formed associations of PLHAs in Pune and
Salem where members are motivated to save regularly
and establish micro-businesses. Each PLHA or his/her
family member is provided financial assistance with
business training to enter into income generating
activities at an individual or group level. As of
March 2007, PCI India’s PLHA associations have nearly
900 members, of which almost 350 people have received
credit with a cumulative loan disbursement of more
than $32,000.
Tsunami
Recovery through Livelihood Rehabilitation in Nagapattinam
 PCI
India is playing a major role in the rehabilitation
of tsunami-affected communities in Nagapattinam,
in Southern India . At work in 21 villages, PCI
India has provided affordable and timely financial
services to nearly 1,900 members of 120 women’s
Self Help Groups. As of March 2007, more than 989
clients have taken almost $70,000 in loans for rebuilding
their businesses including fishing, petty shops,
boat repair and beauty parlors. PCI India formed
a federation of Self Help Groups, which has developed
stringent quality parameters for its members for
accessing credit. |
