Projects Working in Rural India

Projects

• Drishtee • SKS Microfinance, • ITC’s e-Choupal, • Hindustan Lever’s i-Shakti • Hewlett Packard’s photo training. – • DICNIC, • AGRISNET, • AgRIS, • AGMARKNET, S• SeedNet, • eKrishi • marginalized women,

Like many firms begun in the infamous dot-com era of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Drishtee’s roots come from a strong ability to recognize opportunity combined with an expertise in designing and delivering technology.  Started in the year 2000 in Dhar (Madhya Pradesh, India), Drishtee’s first project was to develop and implement a web-based software for “Gyandoot”, an e-governance initiative to deliver government services to the rural poor at their doorstep.

Gyandoot rapidly gained international recognition, leading to the Stockholm Challenge Award later that year.  More importantly, Gyandoot sowed the seed of Drishtee by providing its founder, Satyan Mishra, with the vision that ICT and rural entrepreneurship could spread across rural India, leveraging technology and new business models to offer solutions for rural development.

Though Drishtee is a for profit business, its social roots remain strong.  When Drishtee first started, its service offerings were aimed largely at land holding farmers. As the model has evolved, Drishtee’s focus has shifted towards improving the entire community in an economically sustainable way. Whereas some services provide immediate returns to the customers, others have future payoff to society, such as providing education to village youth to improve their employability. About 15% of an average village population takes advantage of the kiosk services, and this percentage is likely to increase with expansion in Drishtee's service offering.

Drishtee "Connecting India Village by Village"

The Concept Drishtee entrepreneurial model

Drishtee offers various solutions for different categories of people depending on the investment they can do to deliver the services. An eligible person can opt for any of the two existing options. The Regular kiosk or the computer-based kiosk and the Tele Sales Center (TSC) or the non-computer based services.

``````http://www.drishtee.com

Computer Based Kiosk or the KO Model: A computer based kiosk is a regular kiosk which makes the kiosk owner deliver all the Drishtee services, both computer based like computer and English and non-computer based like selling products and insurance etc. For establishing a regular kiosk all he will be needing is the basic infrastructure like a room, computer hardware and other necessary things that will be provided byDrishtee.

• The Tele Sales Center (TSC)

A TSC is a sales centre without computer, which means that all the computer related services like computer and English education cannot be taken up by the TSC owner, more commonly known as District Mobile Operator. But all the other services like, selling various products, insurance, queries and product selling can be easily delivered through a TSC. For running a TSC a person is provided with a WAP enabled GPRS Mobile instrument along with software to support the specially designed Drishtee portal.

• KioskA Kiosk is an information center from where the rural entrepreneur or kiosk owner operates and provides various services to the village community. The rural entrepreneur or the kiosk owner can setup this kiosk with computer, printer, and/or a camera. Using them he can serve the people of his community and earn his livelihood. The Drishtee model currently also includes Internet connectivity.

Services from Drishtee

• CEEP Computer Courses• STEP Step Towards English Proficiency• Agri-queries• E-governance• Business Process Outsourcing• Rural ecommerce  

Services in partnership Microsoft for research, joint promotion, empowering

rural women and other technical support

• Intel for research support, computer hardware upgradation and other technical support

• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

• ICICI Lombard General Insurance

• Amaron Batteries for batteries and invertors

• Scojo for Reading Glasses•

• Pustak Mahal for providing readable materials for all sections of society • PCO & mobile recharge• Oxigen for all recharge coupons• Hewlett & Packard Xerox machines at kiosks• Rural Employment Agencies• Aqua & Hello Uttam for providing solutions to agri-queries

Service & Product in FutureAgri-based services

1. Drishtee has tied up with CFCL (Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd.) for sale of its product through Drishtee's kiosks

1. Ready plans to associate with Agricultural Insurance Company of India (AICI), a Government of India enterprise and the consultations are in advanced stages. Quiver would be offered to be referral agent to sell crop insurance product of AICI.

1. Micro-Finance: Drishtee is working on providing micro-finance and low-interest bank loans to villagers in partnership with ICICI Bank.

E-Health Services: With a tie-up with local health centers and health insurance companies, Drishtee is working towards initiating a pilot project in a rural village to bring Medicare in rural India.

• Age:35 yearsQualification:Post graduationAddess: Kharkhauda, MeerutFamily Occupation: Heading a SchoolKiosk Startup Date: January 2006

• Poonam Bharadwaj in not more than a year’s time, has built her own individuality and earned appreciations from the Sanpanch and the Panchayat people. Today Poonam has a minimum earning of Rs.3000- 4000 per month within a year, which she knows will grow with the growth of her kiosk. She offers various services from her center like computer education, digital photography etc., and has plans to take up more services in the near future. She feels content, still has plans to grow because according to her she has found a means to serve her society and contribute to the development of her village.

Anwar Hussain Chowdhary• Age: 36 years

Qualification: Graduation Address: Tezpur, AssamFamily Occupation: FarmingKiosk Startup Date: July 2004Best Performance: Rs.17,000 in December 2005

• Anwar Hussain Chowdhary is a known name in list of Drishtee kiosk owners. He has received award for his efforts to bring changes in his society from Honorable President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. He has been one of the oldest kiosk owners and has been continuously working for rendering more and more services to his community people. English and Computer Education has been one of the main focuses for him as he wishes that every child of his village should be well versed with English and Computers. Apart from this he has been successful in delivering many other new and regular services to his village people.

• Mohit Gangwar • Age: 24yrs

Qualification: GraduationAddress: Bareilly, Uttar PradeshFamily Occupation: Digital Photography ShopKiosk Startup Date: April 2005Best Performance: Rs. 17,000/- in December 2005

• He represents the best of Drishtee Kiosk Owners who have started with minimum income levels and then grown a full fledged business out of their Drishtee Kiosk. A digital camera in Drishtee model therefore has been a point of initial attraction for Mohit like many others as well. The fact that he is bringing so many benefits to his community and is a part of a rural revolution makes him proud of owning a Drishtee Kiosk. Mohit is sure that his career peak is still to be reached where he should be able to bring the best of both worlds together – High profits for his Kiosk and services and social gains for the community

SKC –Micro FinancingEmpowering the poor• Mission:

SKS Microfinance empowers the poor to become economically self-reliant by providing financial services in a sustainable manner.

• Overview:

• Launched in 1998, SKS Microfinance is one of the fastest growing microfinance organizations in the world, having provided over $579 million (Rs 2313 crores) and has maintained loans outstanding of $263 million (1053 crores) in loans to 1,879,258 women members in poor regions of India. Borrowers take loans for a range of income-generating activities, including livestock, agriculture, trade (such as vegetable vending), production (from basket weaving to pottery) and new age businesses (Beauty Parlor to photography). SKS also offers interest-free loans for emergencies as well as life insurance to its members. Its NGO wing SKS foundation runs the Ultra Poor Program.

• SKS currently has 771 microfinance branches in 15 states across India. SKS aims to reach 4,000,000 members by 2009. In the last year alone, SKS Microfinance has achieved nearly 170 % growth, with 99% on-time repayment rate.

About SKS -Methodology

SKS delivers microfinance through a grameen (village) banking program that utilizes the joint liability model developed by the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. SKS has adapted the methodology to suit the local conditions and currently uses the following three steps:

Village Selection

• Before entering a village, SKS staff members conduct a comprehensive survey to evaluate the local conditions and potential for operations.  Some of the key factors include total population, poverty level, road accessibility, political stability and safety. After a village has been selected, SKS conducts a Projection Meeting with the entire village to introduce SKS, its mission, methodology and services. After the projection meeting, SKS holds a Mini-Projection Meeting to further explain SKS to interested parties and appeal directly to those who may not have attended the meeting because of religious, class, caste or gender barriers. Upon completion of the mini-projection meeting, Sangam (Center) Formation begins.   

Sangam Center Formation

• After SKS has selected a village and conducted informational sessions with its residents, interested women form self-selected five member groups to serve as guarantors for each other. This process is called Group Formation. Experience has shown that a five-member group is small enough to effectively enforce group peer pressure and, if necessary, large enough to cover repayments in case a member needs assistance. Group members must be between the ages of 18 and 59, cannot be related and must live close to one another.

• Once a group is formed and meets the minimum requirements, it begins Compulsory Group Training (CGT). CGT is a five day program consisting of hour-long sessions designed to educate clients on the processes and procedures of SKS and build a culture of credit discipline.  Using innovative, visual and participatory teaching methods, SKS staff introduces clients to SKS’ financial products and delivery methods. In addition, CGT teaches clients the importance of collective responsibility, how to elect group leaders, the SKS pledge and how to sign their name. During the training period, SKS staff also collects quantitative data on each client to make sure they qualify for the program and record base-line information for future analysis. On the fifth day, clients take the Group Recognition Test and are officially accepted as a SKS’ client after successfully completing the test. 

• As additional groups are formed within a single village, a Sangam (Center) emerges. During Sangam Formation, groups are combined to form a center of 4 to 12 groups or 20 to 60 clients. The Sangam is responsible for the repayment of all groups, creating a dual joint liability system. If one group defaults the rest of the Sangam must repay. Once a Sangam is formed, Financial Transactions  begin the following week. 

      

Financial Transactions

• After the formation of a Sangam, a leader and deputy leader are appointed to help facilitate meetings and ensure compliance with SKS procedures. Sangam meetings are held on a weekly basis by SKS’ Field Assistants and all financial transactions (also see Products & Services) are conducted during the meeting. Meetings begin early in the morning so not to interfere with the daily activities of the clients. In addition to financial transactions, clients use the weekly meetings to discuss new loan applications, loan utilization and community issues. Sangam meetings are conducted with rigid discipline in order to sustain an environment of credit discipline created during CGT.

Partners

• 1.Life Insurance Corporation of India - www.licindia.com2.ABN AMRO - www.abnamro.co.in3.CITIBANK - www.citibank.com/india/4.HDFC - www.hdfcbank.com5.HSBC - www.hsbc.com6.ICICI BANK - www.icicibank.com7.Axis Bank - www.axisbank.com 8.SIDBI - www.sidbi.com

Donors

• 1.American India Foundation - www.aifoundation.org

2.CGAP - www.cgap.org

3.Echoing Green - www.echoinggreen.org

• 4.India Development Service (IDS) - www.idsusa.org

• 5.Maharashtra Foundation - www.indiancharity.org

• 6.The i2Foundation – www.i2.com/company/i2foundation

Client Stories -Kondapur• Name: Kondapur Saalibai

Hometown: Kondapur Village, Medak DistrictChildren: One sonFirst Loan: Rs. 4,000 ($91)Current Loan: Rs. 6,000 ($136)Business: Buffalo and Agriculture

• Saalibai is a Banjara tribal woman from the village of Kondapur. Banjaras are among the poorest communities in India. Saalibai's situation is especially tragic because her husband died soon after marriage, leaving her with a young son to raise. Unable to manage on her own, she moved into her brother-in-law's house. Initially, Saalibai borrowed Rs. 4,000 ($95) for a buffalo. However, her new earning capacity prompted her brother-in-law to begin harrassing Saalibai and appropriating her money. Unable to make her weekly loan repayments, Saalibai had no choice but to sell her buffalo and return the funds she had borrowed to SKS.

• Name: Bhagyamma VadlaAge: 26Children: One son, eight years oldHometown: ChitayalaCurrent Loan: Rs. 12,000 ($276)Loan history: 4 Loans IGL, Rs. 29,000 ($657)Business: Buffalo milk sales and sewing

•Purchasing water buffaloes and cows is a very popular income-generating activity for SKS members. The reason is simple. Most villagers have the skills to take care of milk-producing animals, and the potential income a member can earn is very high. Consider Narsamma of Chandkhanpally village. With a first year loan of Rs. 4,000 ($95), Narsamma bought a buffalo that produced two liters of milk per day which is sold to a milk collector who comes directly to her home. With this minimal effort, Narsamma increased her weekly income by about Rs. 100 ($2.50).

• In the second year, Narsamma took a loan of Rs. 6,000 ($142) and purchased yet another buffalo, a larger one which produced three and one-half liters of milk a day. Narsamma's weekly income rose by an additional Rs. 170 ($4). Combined with her earnings from her first buffalo, Narsamma has now become the major source of income for the family. Accordingly, her status has improved in the household, and Narsamma notes, "Even my father-in-law shows me greater respect now."