Micro- finance for new and small businesses
(Athwaas)
Brainstorming Solutions
Project Philosophy: Teach a person to learn to fish, rather than give him fish
Inspired by the famed Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus’s Grameen Bank, pioneering the concepts of micro-credit and micro-finance, Revive Kashmir partnered with its implementation partner, Iqbal Memorial Institute- Sakhawat Center, to contribute towards a pay it forward interest free micro-loan project, wherein several such small businesses would be given an interest free small loan to re-establish their basic livelihood, and be in a position to start paying back the loan amount in small installments in an effort to use the capital towards helping another small business.
We measure the project by understanding how many businesses start paying back the capital provided in an interest-free form i.e. “pay it back” and how many businesses pay back the full amount i.e. “pay it forward”. In both cases, the capital received back is used towards helping a new benefi ciary, in an attempt to create a healthy business ecosystem.
Project Milestones
The project was initiated in early 2015, through which until the end of 2018, 102 beneficiaries were identified and served with micro-finance (loan) capitals in the range on INR 10,000 to INR 50,000 (approximately $175-800) per individual business. These beneficiaries were located in various districts of Kashmir valley.
By the end of 2018, 52 beneficiaries were paying it back and 6 of the beneficiaries had already paid it forward. The beneficiaries not being able to pay back were identified as facing extreme financial hardship or had not been able to utilize the funds for livelihood purpose.
The initial results of the project has encouraged us to invest in this project further to fulfil our mission
Our Future Vision
Revive Kashmir plans to reach a total of 500 beneficiaries by year 2020, through:
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Additional funding and additional recovery from the micro-credits that would be able to benefit more small businesses.
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Identify beneficiaries with criteria that have a higher chance of success as indicated by the data in earlier phase.