I recently attended a self-help group (SHG) training session organised by Hand in Hand (HiH). Before getting into the specifics, let me give you a little more insight into the training sessions provided by HiH. HiH is an NGO which … Read More
Informally Successful? – A Fish-seller's Tale
Here is an interesting tale of savings from a fish-seller I have known for quite some time. His reliance on informal savings is interesting as it has helped him supplement not only his livelihood but also enhance it further. Earlier, … Read More
Data vs Ideology – What Works for the Poor?
Nate Silver –the man who challenged American political pundits to follow math– not their guts. I might sound full of pride- but this is probably that time when all researchers are probably finding some Nate Silver in themselves. Picture … Read More
To Commit or not to Commit: Perspectives from a Research Paper
As part of the savings month, we at CMF have also been reading and discussing various academic papers. Last week, I happen to lead the discussion on a paper that dealt with the aspect of commitment savings. Given that farmers … Read More
Improving Public Welfare Programs Through Village Participation
In my last post, I raisedquestions about the measures to reduce corruption in a program of immense scale like MNREGA. This week, I want to shift the focus a little by trying to point out where exactly one form of … Read More
Shanti’s Savings Story – Moving from Informal Finance to Formal Finance
Picture Credit: http://www.openthemagazine.com/ My name is Shanti and I live in 15 kms outside Varanasi. I have a small family with 3 children – Ruby who is 8, Rahul who is 7, and Rishu who is 1.5 years of age. … Read More
Why can’t Saraswati Save? Understanding her Dilemma!
Saraswati- an urban maid making Rs. 7,000/ month dreams of sending her children to college one day. Whenever asked why she is working, she proudly replies, “so that my children get better education”- yet- she fails to save a lump … Read More
Who are We Saving? What are We Saving?
“I don’t earn enough to save!”, “I have too many debts!”, “I think savings require a huge amount to be set aside”. How often do one come across these statements? In my experience as well as from what I have … Read More
Can “Text Messages” from the Bank Help you Save More?
Courtesy: First Southern National Bank Barring a few committed ones, we all struggle to save more towards our future expenses, vacation expenses, retirement savings, kids’ college tuitions and so on. Reasons cited by literature range anywhere from lack of self-control, … Read More
Analyzing the BC Model (Part III) Why isn't it Working? – Asymmetry Between the Model and Agent/Client Needs
In ourfirst post in this series, we discussed the key advantages of the BC model and the reasons that it should succeed as an apex financial inclusion tool. However, as we stated in our second post, the model has not been performing … Read More