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Planned
Social Concern
Around
the world, the overwhelming majority of poor people
do not have access to formal financial services,
including loans, credit or insurance. Money lenders,
who charge exorbitant interest, are often the only
resource for people seeking to launch or invest
in their own business. With such inadequate — and
often financially crippling options — people living
in poverty rarely have the chance to raise their
standard of living.
Microcredit, and its broader application, microfinance,
have proven to be the most successful tools over
the last thirty years in the global fight against
poverty. Providing the poor with basic financial
services enables them to increase their incomes,
educate and feed their children, and ultimately,
lead healthy, productive lives.
In India , where nearly 260 million people earn
less than dollar a day, only 20 million have access
to basic financial services. PCI has offered credit
and other financial services in India since 2002,
with a growing portfolio to assist people in need
throughout the country, concentrating in areas where
the organization has offices — New Delhi (country
office); Jaipur, Rajasthan; Pune, Maharashtra; Salem,
Tamil Nadu; Nagappattinam, Tamil Nadu; Warangal,
Andra Pradesh; and, Ranchi, Jharkhand.
As one of 25 Grameen
Bank replicators, PCI India established
its first Microfinance Institution in December 2005,
Planned Social Concern (PSC). PSC began with seed
funds from the Grameen Trust of Bangladesh and investment
capital from a group of Americans. PSC plans to
consolidate and expand its microfinance portfolio
by substantially increasing its outreach of all
microfinance activities with a target population
of nearly 500,000 and 50,000 loan clients by 2015.
PSC Initiatives
Urban
Slums in Delhi
Microfinance
Institution for Rural Communities in Jaipur
Microfinance
for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Pune and Salem
Tsunami
Recovery through Livelihood Rehabilitation in Nagapattinam
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
FACTSHEET
Connecting
India to Disconnect Poverty
PCI
is currently executing a project called “Connecting
India to Disconnect Poverty” (CIDP).
The project focuses on finding out information
exchange gaps between MFI and clients on both
financial and non-financial issues. This gap
analysis will help PCI to develop an M-Commerce
Application. Through this application, MFIs
and clients can exchange useful (financial
and non-financial) information very efficiently
and cost effectively.
CIDP
project is being executed in two phases. The
first phase is focused on research study of
MFIs and their clients across India to identify:
Existing gaps in sharing information like
financial, market, business etc. on regular
basis;
To understand the present use of mobile phone
(technology) in the micro credit/ finance
industry;
To asses and prioritize need of effective
communication between MFI (institution) and
its clients (individuals).
In
the second phase of the programme, PCI/India
and the partnering MFIs will begin a pilot
implementation of the M-Commerce Application,
(developed as an outcome of the research study).
PCI will undertake four pilots in the northern
part of the country. M-Commerce Application
will be put to test to understand its feasibility
and to further modify it according to the
needs of the clients and then to further upscale
it to the other regions of India.
CIDP Factsheet
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