ICT (Connecting India to Disconnect Poverty)

PCI in support with Qualcomm under “Wireless Reach” initiated Connecting India to Disconnect Poverty (CIDP) in April 2008.

Vision of the CIDP:
To empower the poor women micro-entrepreneurs (clients of MFIs) by developing Mobile based application to access information like previously unavailable market and services like MFI transactional data, while simultaneously creating efficiencies and streamlining operations within MFIs.

CIDP Goals:

Empower
1. empower MFI and their clients by enhancing access
2. enhance use of information for improved business operations
3. ease access to credit
4. enable market outreach
Enhance Access
1. Provide time-sensitive information on mobile phone to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their clients on- financial and business aspects; non-financial social aspects such as, health, education, agriculture, government schemes etc.
Enable
1. Technology tool to frontline workers to help MFI business transformation

The CIDP project is segmented into three phases:

Phase I: Research

During the Research phase, PCI has conducted an exhaustive survey of the 100 MFIs and their customers to identify gaps in market information, communications and information technology that limit effectiveness and growth of small businesses – particularly those owned and operated by women in rural areas. With data collected, PCI India produced a comprehensive report which was the foundation of an in-depth database for the M-Commerce application. With this research some Indian MFIs were identified across the country. Of these MFIs, PCI India selected two of the most promising MFIs for in-depth analysis and potential participation in the Pilot and potentially, the Bring to Scale phases of the project.

Phase II: Pilot/Implementation

During the Pilot/Implementation phase PCI India and partnering MFIs; Planned Social Concern (PSC) from Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Sonata Finance Private Limited from Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) began the pilot/implementation of the Mobile Application. The CIDP project is designed to empower women micro-entrepreneurs by developing BREW based software applications for CDMA cell phones to access information and services. The application designer partner in the CIDP project is ZMQ software systems. In this phase the loan officers and the clients of the MFIs will be using the M-Application to do all their transaction related work which they were doing manually earlier. With the implementation of M-application there will be more transparency of the work between the MFIs and the customers. The distance travelled by the loan officers will also be reduced and they can update their clients about their loan amount, balance, meetings and other activities using this m-application. The clients can also get non-financial information through the M-application. The training on the usage of the M-application to the loan officers and the clients is being provided by the PCI team.

Phase II: Scale Up

In the scale-Up phase of CIDP, PCI India is creating a pro-poor social business to manage and increase the demand for the M-Application software among the current and additional participating MFIs. In this phase there is development of a mobile base e- business channel for rural women. Using this, client can sell commercial products by creating linkages with the companies dealing in products that have a social footprint – insurance, solar equipment, etc. The M-Application will generate revenue streams from businesses interested in reaching millions of MFI borrowers, and stake holders. This can create a channel for business to reach the bottom of pyramid customers, simultaneously enable the community women to access markets.

M- Application will narrow down these information gaps and serve the clients in a user friendly and effective way, and further will help the women micro-entrepreneurs to grow and improve their business and incomes.