SOIL Report 2008 - ACCESS Development Services

Chapter VIGroup-based microenterprise promotion: SKDRDP also promotes a number of individual and groupactivities. xviii The role of SKDRDP is to finance, train and assist the groups with their management andmarketing. Over 40,000 families from 3,000 groups have received assistance to start enterprises. Thegroups get the fixed assets usually under a government programme and access working capital throughtheir groups. The positive result of various microenterprises has encouraged SKDRDP to set up aseparate not-for-profit Section 25 company called SIRI specifically to provide marketing services, to thebusinesses groups. xix The total sales turnover of SIRI as of March 2007 was Rs 6.8 crore. The biggestbuyer of the goods is the temple itself and the millions of devotees it receives every year.Pragati Nidhi Microfinance Programme: SKDRDP’s Pragati Nidhi programme is the largestcommunity-based microfinance programme run by an NGO in India. SKDRDP is a financial intermediary,it borrows from banks in bulk and on-lends to the groups. The total loan that can be availed byan individual is Rs 1 lakh. The rate of interest to a member is 12 per cent which makes it one of thecheapest microfinance loans in India. Most of the loans are long-term – even up to 10 years − thusmaking weekly instalments small and easy to repay. As of March 2008, nearly 6 lakh active borrowershave outstanding loans of Rs 320 crore. Nearly 70 per cent are women.Sampoorna Suraksha Microinsurance programme: SKDRDP’s realisation that the majority of thefamilies are highly vulnerable to unexpected shocks, which could quickly undo all their progress, led it tointroduce Sampoorna Suraksha. It is unique in that it covers not only hospital and other medical costsbut also a full range of other risks, including maternity expenses, loss of earnings during convalescence,funeral expenses, losses arising from floods and other natural calamities, damage to housing and standingcrops, and general accidents.Key features of the interventionsThe concept offarmers sharinglabour hasenabled the mento bond togetherand is centralto SKDRDP’ssuccess.The Pragathi Bandhu groups of SKDRDP are the only male-dominated SHGs in India. The conceptof farmers sharing labour has enabled the men to bond together and is central to SKDRDP’s success.However women’s groups now outnumber men’s groups in outreach and portfolio value. SKDRDPprovides a full range of livelihood assistance to these groups. The microfinance programme has beendesigned to reflect members’ needs - larger, longer-term and lower-cost loans - as compared to small,short term, high-interest loans prevailing in the sector. The groups have access to their own funds, fromlocal banks and from Pragathi Nidhi. Most of the groups however prefer to borrow from the Nidhibecause the terms are more liberal. Pragathi Nidhi is indeed livelihood financing with credit availablefor every conceivable purpose.ChallengesSKDRDP is now shifting its focus to agro-processing and non-farm activities, and to the growth ofwomen’s group enterprises. This involves marketing in competition with well-known brands and therehave been few examples anywhere of successful group-owned manufacturing businesses. SKDRDP istaking on a major challenge and needs to develop supply and marketing expertise in a variety of productlines. So far, the products made by groups have not faced any marketing challenges as there is a captivemarket, the devotees of the temple, but soon the production will grow beyond narrow markets.Labour-intensive production is good for the village women’s welfare, but it may not be competitive, andproducts which can more economically be made by machine may have to be dropped. Developing newremunerative enterprises for the women will be a challenge. Another challenge facing SKDRDP is thatof skilled human resource. The increasing exposure of SKDRDP to microenterprises demands highlyqualified human resource.146