2 Indian MFIs commit to help end poverty with the Microcredit Summit Campaign: Equitas and Grama Vidiyal
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) June 23, 2015 -- The Microcredit Summit Campaign welcomes Equitas and Grama Vidiyal, two major Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs), as the 55th and 56th organizations to make a Campaign Commitment. They join a global coalition that includes the ILO, FAO, and Government of Ecuador and is working to help 100 million families lift themselves out of extreme poverty.
Equitas and Grama Vidiyal are both active members of the Campaign. Equitas has reported its client outreach to the Campaign since 2008 and Grama Vidiyal since 1998. Both are serving more than 1 million clients with microfinance services.
Chairman and managing director of Grama Vidiyal, Sathianathan Devaraj, explained that "Microfinance is a very important tool for financial inclusion... Microfinance creates a window for the poor where they can access quality financial services such as credit, savings, insurance etc., without inhibition. A double bottom line approach with the right balance of fiscal performance and positive social impact is key to microfinance’s success." The Campaign partners with both Grama Vidiyal and Equitas to provide integrated health and microfinance services to their clients.
Equitas is committing to expand its microfinance services in 2015-2016, including:
- Provide 1.5 million clients with financial services.
- Screen the health of 850,000 clients.
- Use the Progress out of Poverty Index to measure the poverty level of 1.5 million clients.
- Cover 120,000 clients under the food security and health education programs.
- Provide gainful employment to 15,000 unemployed youth.
- Screen, educate, and track the health of 3,500 students in the 6 schools run by Equitas Trust.
- Provide support to 3,000 disabled women and 200 homeless families.
Read the full Campaign Commitment letter from Equitas to learn more.
Grama Vidiyal is committing to expand its microfinance services in 2015-2016, including:
- Help 1,050,000 community members through its empowerment program.
- Help 800,000 clients with the Free Meals program.
- Help 500,000 clients with the Health Service and Development Program that provides sanitary napkins for women.
- Screen 300,000 clients in 720 health camps.
- Provide an additional 150,000 clients with financial services in FY15
- Give access to 150,000 clients to health related products and medicines.
- Provide 10,000 clients with discounted consultation/treatment in partner hospitals.
- Use the Progress out of Poverty Index to measure the poverty level of 35,000 clients.
Read the full Campaign Commitment letter from Grama Vidiyal to learn more.
The Microcredit Summit Campaign is building a movement among financial service stakeholders committed to helping to end extreme poverty through the 100 Million Project. The project recruits public statements of commitment to action, seeks an expansion of practices to reliably measure movement out of extreme poverty, and promotes innovations and best practices to accelerate movement out of poverty.
###
The Microcredit Summit Campaign (the “Campaign”), a project of RESULTS Educational Fund, is the largest global network of institutions and individuals involved in microfinance and is committed to two important goals: 1) reaching 175 million of the world’s poorest families with microfinance and 2) helping 100 million families lift themselves out of extreme poverty. The 100 Million Project (focused on Goal 2) was launched in response to World Bank President Jim Yong Kim’s call to end extreme poverty by 2030 and in recognition that full financial inclusion can only be achieved by targeting the extreme poor. For more information on Commitments and the 100 Million Project, visit our website or write to mycommitment[at]microcreditsummit[dot]org.
Equitas, an NBFC MFI with Headquarters at Chennai, India, and operations in Eight states, namely Tamil Nadu, Pondy, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh has about 2.8 million active borrowers as on 31st March, 2015. Along with financial services, Equitas is also promoting several non-financial services aiming at holistic development of their clients and their families. http://www.equitas.in
Grama Vidiyal is one of the largest Indian microfinance institutions, serving one millions clients over 5 Indian states. Their objective is to focus on eradication of poverty and improving the standard of living of downtrodden women. http://www.gvmfl.com
Sabina Rogers, Microcredit Summit Campaign, http://microcreditsummit.org/, +1 (202) 637-9600, [email protected]
Share this article