In spite
of decades of attempts to reduce poverty through government programmes and
international aid, it is estimated that there are still more than 350 million
people in India living under the international poverty line.
What is the IntelleCash Microfinance Network
Programme?
IntelleCash is the first initiative in India
to apply the principles of business franchising to the microfinance sector
through provision of a standardized microfinance solutions package, suitably
customized to meet the contextual needs of our network partners.
In
doing so, we provide microfinance entrepreneurs with the skills, experience and
guidance they need to ensure that their venture is a success from day one.
The IntelleCash network partners enjoy the
support of the following partners in the IntelleCash project. Each are leaders
in the sector, and have been instrumental in shaping the IntelleCash
programme.
Click
below to see three mini-documentaries on the impact of IntelleCash on our
network partners. All interviews were conducted with staff from Aajeevika,
Intellecash network partner, North West Delhi, in 2008.
Aajeevika has been operating in the
impoverished relocation slums of North Delhi for more than three years.
Its
goal has been to reach out to some of the most disadvantaged women in the
community, providing them with access to credit to support their families
through entrepreneurship.
The IntelleCash Aajeevika franchise’s commitment to the urban poor is focussed on two urban communities in North West Delhi, both which have been particularly badly neglected by government agencies.
Holambi Kalan and Bawana were formed as official resettlement colonies for families who had been compulsorily relocated from central Delhi as part of slum clearance programmes. The resettled residents were each provided with a small plot of land, and no other facilities.
As well as the pitiful living conditions, the dislocation also caused many families to lose their livelihoods, as employers and clients were too far away to be reached easily. Students and schoolchildren were unable to sit exams or complete their courses, and either dropped out or were forced to repeat years.
At the same, many families were plunged into heavy debt to money lenders as they sought to construct homes on their new plots. Many poor but economically active families were pushed into destitution as a result.
Nevertheless, there remains a wealth of skills and talent in both Holambi and Bawana that dates from before the relocation, when the population was part of an integrated if impoverished inner city economy.
IntelleCash’s Aajeevika Franchise was founded to reawaken this potential among the population, through microfinance loans.
