Visit with Rajesh Shah - SAVE
Trip Start
Jul 26, 2008
1
38
64
Trip End
Sep 27, 2008
Ahmedabad,
India
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Rajesh focuses on creating independent and sustainable programs that he and his organization launches and then steps back as they move to full independence - and then they move on to new initiatives. One of his current key focuses at this time is water purification to provide potable water to those who do not have it.
I went with him on a three hour each way car trip where he was consummating a relationship with salt farmers to form an organization that is owned 65% by the salt farmers and 35% by SAVE.
In the office I met with Ushma Pathak who heads up their Microcredit Program. They have a successful program in Urban areas that is serving 10,000 borrowers. They are restarting a microcredit program in Rural areas. Ushma has developed a unique model which creates Self Help Groups and has them operate quite independently. The money is borrowed from the bank and without subsidy. The Cost of Money from the Bank is 12%, SAVE charges 6% to cover their cost of overhead and operating these - for a total of 18 - 19%. The borrowers also pay an additional 6% which goes into a fund that is repaid back to the borrowers at the end of the fiscal year.
Ushma was quite interested as I shared with her some of my knowledge of Ultra Poor/Beggar Programs and she is quite passionate about the work/good that her program is doing. She is looking to build a solid program and is less interested in the rate of growth than she is the quality of their program. Their target is to have 50,000 borrowers in five years.
Rajesh has been a guest lecturer at EDI and speaks before many other forums. He enthusiastically agreed to be a teleconference guest lecturer and will send his CV and a list of courses that he is most suited to teach..
Rajesh
