Social and Financial Impact
Social and Financial Impact
In line with its mission and vision, Sa-Dhan undertakes various development activities to promote an inclusive and sustainable society. The primary objective of microfinance has always been developmental in nature aimed all along at removing poverty and hunger. The activities are in line with the Government agenda on various thematic areas. Furthermore, all the development activities are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) enunciated by the United Nations.
Financial Literacy
Sa-Dhan since its inception, engaged in the capacity building of the clients, and financial literacy as this is a much-required programme for microfinance institutions. In this regard, Sa-Dhan with support of the RBI Depositors Education Awareness (RBI-DEA) Scheme organizes a series of workshops primarily sensitize the borrowers on various aspects of banking and son on. Sa-Dhan in association with its 29-member institutions organize 2250 workshops across 20 States/UTs and 83 Districts. Out of 83 districts, 57 are aspirational and 26 are non-aspirational districts. 75% workshops are organized in Rural followed by 20% and 5% in Semi-urban and Urban respectively.
Water & Sanitation
Sa-Dhan has strong engagement with water and sanitation financing segment and is instrumental to bring water and sanitation portfolio under Priority Sector Lending. Sa -Dhan has conducted studies and undertook advocacy activities with the lenders to facilitate water and sanitation loan to the poor people. Further Sa-Dhan conducted scope of studies in seven states to find out the financial gaps that can be catered by MFIs to achieve the objective of “Swachh Bharat Mission” and for the promotion of WATSAN financing. Sa-Dhan has undertaken Water Credit Adoption (WCAD) programme in various states of the country. Sa-Dhan also extended extensive capacity building support to its partner institutions. Additionally, Sa-Dhan’s continuous engagement with financial institutions like NABARD and its subsidiaries also other banks, lenders etc. on their participation in this segment enabled MFIs receive financial assistance to strengthen their WASH portfolio and to fulfil the credit need of borrowers.
Digital Ecosystem
The pandemic has proved that digital financial inclusion is crucial and further accelerated the process of digitization. At institution level, the process of digitization in microfinance services is getting a transformational and phenomenal change. To develop a digital ecosystem, Sa-Dhan conduct a series of training intervention for clients and loan officers aimed at improving awareness and confidence in the use of various digital financial products and services. To bridge the demand and supply side gap, Sa-Dhan engages with Banks, Fintechs, Payment banks, and other stakeholders. We strongly believe and promote PHYGITAL approach.
Climate Resilient Agriculture
In terms of guaranteeing food and nutritional security for the world’s growing population,
climate change has emerged as a major cause of concern. It is affecting agriculture all
across the world, but India is particularly vulnerable because of its vast population, excessive
reliance on natural resources, and limited options to cope with climate vagaries. Impact of
climate change on food and nutritional security can have serious consequences. In this vein, Sa-Dhan is exploring various ways to adapt technologies to mitigate the climate risk. Efforts are made to engage with various stakeholders and develop an ideal ecosystem.
Affordable Housing
The World Urbanisation Prospects estimates that more than 50 percent of India will reside in urban areas by 2050. According to the report by Technical Group (TG12) on urban housing shortage, around 19 million (18.78) families in cities grapple with housing shortages.
An affordable housing is deemed affordable to those with a median household income. The housing choice is a response to a complex set of economic, social and psychological impulses which include expenditure, economy, and transportation. Housing is considered affordable when a family has access to a decent housing unit with amenities at 20 to 40 percent of gross monthly household income earmarked for either rent or mortgage. Using an integrated approach of strategy, policy-advocacy and client engagement, we undertake the task of scaling up affordable housing for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
Capacity Building on Thematic Areas
Sa-Dhan extends capacity building support to build the resilience of MFIs in the post pandemic time. The intervention would support the small MFIs to successfully get over the various challenges to attain the overarching goal of poverty alleviation and the empowerment of emerging entrepreneurs. Capacity Building support is primarily extended in the key areas of Governance, Client Protection, Risk Management, Business Continuity Planning (BCP) in crisis related scenarios.