Ranu runs a small shop out of her house and took a Business Loan one year ago to expand her business. She lives with her family and her elderly mother. Some months after she joined Ujjivan, Ranu’s mother suffered an accident resulting in a sever rib injury. She was hospitalized and with little cash in hand, Ranu was concerned that her family could not afford her mother’s medical care. She discussed the problem with her CRS and CRM at the Kalighat Branch. They immediately sanctioned an Emergency Loan and within hours, Ranu has the cash to pay the medical bills.

Putul Manna used to sell vegetables on the footpath in Hanshkhali Pole around an area where she lived. Her sales were low and she could barely manage her family of four. Her husband was not involved in her business. Putul’s son had completed his Higher Secondary Exam and was jobless, so there was a lot of anxiety in the family. Furthermore, she had to bear the expenses of daughter’s marriage.So the family

CRISIL’s MFI rating reflects CRISIL’s current opinion on the ability of a microfinance institution (MFI) to conducts its operations in a scalable and sustainable manner and a measure of its overall performance . The grading is assigned on an eight-point scale, with ‘mfR1’ being the highest, and ‘mfR8’ the lowest. Currently ,an mfR2 Grading is the best grading for any MFI  as assigned by CRISIL.

Lalganj, Wednesday 31^st October 2012: Ujjivan Financial Services, one of India’s leading microfinance institutions licensed by the Reserve Bank of India, and thousands of its employees across India are coming to the aid of Achchhelal’s family. On October 19^th, Achchhelal Prasad, an Ujjivan employee was brutally attacked and fatally shot by criminals in Lalganj.

Read the Obituary

Speaking on the incident, Rajat Singh, Ujjivan’s Chief Operating Officer said, “Achechhelal came from a humble background, studied diligently, and worked hard. He started as a peon to become a well-respected senior field staff earning more than Rs. 7500 per month. His shocking and unfortunate death in the line of duty is a wakeup call for law enforcement authorities and the public of Lalganj. We will do all we can to support Achchhelal’s family and will continue his good work in providing financial services to the poor in Lalganj”.

In Lalganj, which is in the under-banked Vaishali District as per Reserve Bank of India, Ujjivan serves nearly 3000 families with 9 employees in the local branch office.

Ujjivan is ensuring that all statutory benefits such as insurance, gratuity and ESIC are provided to Achchhelal Prasad’s immediate family. Thousands of Achchhelal’s colleagues across India are also voluntarily donating a day’s salary, with Ujjivan contributing an equal amount, in creating a fund which will provide ongoing financial support for the family.

Additionally, Ujjivan’s sister non-profit organization Parinaam Foundation, under its Academic Adoption Program, will also support the education of Achchhelal’s children depending on availability of suitable schools.

Achchhelal Prasad was 32 years old and is survived by his wife Sumanti Devi and three young daughters, aged three, six and eight years. He hailed from a poor family in the village of Sughari in Siwan district of Bihar. Despite having lost his father very early in life and facing financial hardships, Achchhelal continued his education and had the distinction of being the highest educated in his village. He was polite, sincere, hard working and was liked by all.

“In serving the under privileged every day, microfinance loan officers like Achchhelal Prasad carry cash on their rounds of collecting customer repayments as these customers do not have bank accounts. They walk, ride their cycles or motorbikes to the slums and villages, where they are easy targets for criminals. There have been several such incidents in the recent past in Lalganj, when officers of microfinance institutions have been attacked on the road and hard-earned customer repayment money has been looted.

We look forward to the cooperation of the public and the support of the police to bring his murderers to book at the earliest”, added Mr.Singh.

Ujjivan serves over 10 lakh customers in 20 states including in 48 under-banked districts across the country. It has won the prestigious Microfinance Organisation of the Year 2011 award and ranks 2^nd in the Financial Services Industry as the Best Company to Work for in India.

Earlier this year the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF)* had conducted a CEO Roundtable. Recently, a revised and updated Briefing Book was released by the Secretariat following dynamic and candid discussions on the challenges faced by MFIs in implementing SPM (Social Performance Management) practices, and the unique strategies being used to address these challenges.

The book documents case studies on how different MFIs are implementing the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management (USSPM).

The USSPM is a set of management standards that apply to all microfinance institutions pursuing a double bottom line. Meeting the standards signifies that an institution has “strong” social performance management practices. The document contains standards, essential practices, and additional good practices.

Ujjivan is featured as a case study on successful implementation of SPM practices.

Click here to download the Briefing Book

The SPTF has used these case studies as input in the recently launched six-part webinar series “Implementing the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management” and will go on into 2013. 

*Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) consists of over 1,300 members from all over the world and every microfinance stakeholder group: practitioners, donors and investors (multilateral, bilateral, and private), global, regional, and national associations, technical assistance providers, rating agencies, academics and researchers, regulators, and others.  Day-to-day operations of the Task Force are run by the SPTF Secretariat, while a 16-member Steering Committee with representatives from all major stakeholder groups provides strategic leadership and oversight.  

A delegation from Central Bank of West African States (Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest or BCEAO) visited Ujjivan recently. They were on a study tour to India to understand the on-ground functioning of Credit Bureaus. The BCEAO delegation was accompanied by Mr. Colin Raymond (Product Specialist, Credit Bureau, International Finance Corporation).

Implementation of the Credit Bureau was one of the key initiatives for the industry last year where Ujjivan was in the forefront. Ujjivan shares updated customer data monthly to all three bureaus: Highmark, CIBIL and Equifax.

BCEAO is a central bank serving eight West African countries which comprise the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA): Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. The Bank is active in developing financial inclusion policy and is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.

The delegation was provided a live demonstration on the processes and systems involved during the credit check of a customer’s details. A robust process is in place for relevant data capture, data sharing and data extraction. All loan proposals have to mandatorily go through end-to-end client information checks with credit bureau databases to ensure credit risk management and quality portfolio growth.

BCEAO has the exclusive rights to issue currency as the common central bank for the member countries. The Central Bank oversees monetary assignments or projects that contribute to improve the environment for monetary policy, and strengthen the financial system.

Our customers and other residents in New Colony in Shillong have to pass through a steep hilly climb daily to reach Lumsopoh. When it rains this uneven path becomes extremely dangerous to cross due to the slippery mud.

During discussions with customers, they suggested that Ujjivan construct a pucca path of stairs as a Social Development Program project. Over 400 customers and several hundred other families reside in the locality. Ujjivan’s staff and the customers jointly conducted a survey of the area to explore the feasibility of the project. Soon, our team met with the Village Headman and Secretary of the community. They were delighted with the idea and committed their support for the project, which was begun immediately.

Within just a few days, a flight of stairs 4 feet wide and 90 metres long was constructed.

The new path was inaugurated by Guest of Honour Mr H.B Wahlang, Headman of Greater Lumparing and Chairman of 19^th South, Social and Political Awareness Committee. Several other Government administrative dignitaries were also present. The inauguration function was attended by over 150 customers.

Mr.Wahlang said, “Over the past 2 years Ujjivan has worked wonders for many women of the state and in the area by providing financial support to the majority lower middle and poor community. But even more praiseworthy is Ujjivan’s real developmental work. It has set an example to other companies and legislative representatives who talk and promise development but never fulfil it. I applaud the branch staff and the Company for taking up this wonderful project.”

The function was telecast in popular local electronic media including onIndia’s largest terrestrial channel, Doordarshan.

Purdey mein rehne do, Purdah na uthao… (Let me remain behind the veil)

Purdah jo uth gaya tho raaz khul jayega… (If the veil is lifted, the secret will be revealed)

…go the riffs of a popular Bollywood song.  

Since time immemorial the burqa has been used by Muslim women around the world. It has been an integral part of their dress and over a period of time has evolved to become more than just a piece of black cloth.

With the fashion industry revolution, burqas have become designer apparel. An intricately handcrafted burqa sells for at least US $400 in markets around the world.

The price of a burqa gives the impression that the people making these are well compensated. Nothing could be further from the truth. The women and men actually working on the burqa barely make ends meet each month. The income of a burqa making craftsman is just Rs.5000 – Rs.8000 (~US$140) a month on average.

Shamina Banu: Skilled entrepreneur

Shamina Banu, an Ujjivan customer, lives in a 10’ x 8’ room in Bharuch, Gujarat. The small room is shared with her husband Mohammad Faruk and her three children, 6 year old Faisal, 4 year old Owasis and 10 month old Samrin. The room  functions as a kitchen during lunch and dinner, a bedroom at night and for 15 hours every day it is the workshop where burqas, saris, lehengas and other dress material are made.

Shamina’s father was a textile factory worker and her mother used to put embroidery designs on saris. She taught Shamina basic thread work when she was barely 10 years old. When Shamina turned 18, she was married off to Mohammad Faruk. This is a common household story here in Furza locality (in Bharuch), which has a dense Muslim population, where the women are not allowed to leave home for work.

Her brother has a tailoring shop in another part of town. Shamina regrets that her brother had the opportunity to learn the trade as an apprentice of a specialist tailor in a textile factory while she was only able to learn basic handwork at home from her mother.

Faruk and Shamina have been married for 9 years. While Faruk had picked up burqa handwork as a part of the family business, Shamina started to work on burqas only after her marriage. The main difference between working on saris and in burqas is in the intricacy of handwork, since the piece of cloth for burqas is smaller in size.

Garments handwork industry

The garment handwork industry has grown primarily due to the fact that large number of Muslim women could stay at home and yet contribute to the family income. In this informal system, any woman can act as a contractor or sub-contractor based on the orders she procures, sub-contracting it to other women in the locality.

Shamina learned intricate handwork from Faruk in the first year of marriage. In the early years she hardly managed to finish 1-2 burqas in a day but over time, she became an expert at it. However, Shamina says that household work needs to be taken care of on priority and only then can she take up the burqa work. She can finish 5 to 7 burqas on a good day. Faruk, her husband, being the more experienced and with quick hands, can finish up to 10 burqas a day. The process of transforming a plain piece of cloth into a beautifully designed burqa takes about 2 hours of work for a practiced hand.    

Faruk procures work orders and material from wholesalers in Surat where he travels once or twice a week. The wholesaler usually gives 100 pieces of burqa cloth which need to be completed in a week. The design is pre-printed on the cloth and a photo of the finished design is provided to help serve as a reference for the handwork.

Rate per burqa: Rs.200 – Rs.500 (depending on the intricacies of the handwork)

Net margin per burqa: Rs.50 – Rs.100 (after deduction of raw material costs)

Hard economic eco-system

The wholesaler does not pay for the finished products immediately. The craftsmen are usually given a “kharcha” or a lump sum amount of Rs.2000 – Rs.3000 depending on the volume of work. Every shipment has a payment slip in duplicate. The wholesaler retains one copy and gives the other to the craftsman. Every year, before the holy month of Ramzan, the dues are calculated and a bulk amount given to the craftsmen. At no time are the entire dues paid to the craftsman! This is to lock-in the craftsmen to the wholesaler and to prevent him/her from starting up an end-to-end business on his/her own. Sometimes the payment is also made in kind wherein the wholesaler pays for the craftsman and his/her family members’ Haj trip by arranging for visas, passport and lodging facilities at Mecca and Madina.

Unique trade

In addition to the work orders from the wholesalers, Shamina and Faruk also try to add to their household income by producing burqas for international markets. During Ramzan, Shamina has many relatives visiting from Pakistan, Middle East and UAE. The relatives take these burqas back with them when returning and sell the products in those countries. They remit the money through a network of people who visit India and the locality.

The loans of Rs.10000 – Rs.15000 that Shamina takes from Ujjivan are utilized to buy decorative raw material such as spools of coloured thread, coloured beads of different sizes, and semi-precious stones. Ujjivan’s loans also help Shamina to buy burqa raw material cloth in bulk directly from a wholesaler.

She earns as much as Rs.1000 for every burqa sold in these foreign countries. However, she has no idea of the actual selling price of her burqas internationally. If they manage to send across an average of 50 pieces, they are able to earn good capital to help continue their business for the rest of the year. Shamina has to ensure that people carry the garments by paying them their excess baggage charges in advance.

2011 was a good year when Shamina and her family earned around Rs.30000 for their burqas. They recruited 2 labourers from a neighbouring village of Bharuch, paying each Rs.500 per week as retainer and Rs.50 per piece.

Worldwide reach

The burqas from this small locality in Bharuch in Gujarat are sold across India and all over the globe – from Karachi and Peshawar to Canada and UAE. The wholesalers never disclose the price they are selling or exporting the goods at. When asked what prevents her and Faruk from directly selling their items in the market place, Shamina smiles and says, “No contacts sir. Big buyers want variety and we cannot afford to provide it with our limited resources.”

Undying aspirations

As she grows her business steadily, Shamina wants all her 3 children to complete their schooling before teaching them handwork. Over the next 2 years they want to move into a 2-room house where they can allow labourers to live and work full time at their home.

Shamina also wants to get into bridal work of saris and lehengas which pays more. One can get as much as Rs.20000 for 15 – 20 days of work. Indian made designer bridal wear have a huge demand in US and Canada and each piece is sold for over Rs.50000.

Ujjivan has taken up a new green initiative as part of the Social Development Program. In select branch areas, and with the suggestions of the local communities, Ujjivan is setting up rainwater harvesting systems. The first of these projects was completed in Dharmapuri and Palacode in Tamil Nadu.

Along with tree plantations, the rainwater harvesting systems were installed in local Government Primary schools which cater to over 300 students. The teachers and students were all very excited to learn about the system and have it in their school premises. Over 500 customers attended the inauguration functions at both the places.

The Diksha Financial Literacy Program has been conceptualised and structured to help teach Ujjivan’s microfinance customers on how to reach their aspirations by managing their money efficiently. Basic money management know-how is usually inculcated in most of us at a very young age through small everyday lessons from our parents. It is also usually one of our parents who help open our first savings account at the best bank and helps in filling the forms. Unfortunately a majority of microfinance customers do not come from a background where their parents were able to teach them these important life lessons.

In August this year, we successfully launched the Diksha Financial Literacy Program in 197 Ujjivan branches. Phase I which is sponsored by Michael and Susan Dell Foundation helps cover 33,000 customers across 108 branches across India. Phase II, launched recently is funded by Citi Foundation helping cover an additional 31,500 customers across 89 Ujjivan branches.

Out of the 13,200 customers that have already enrolled for the program 73% have ‘graduated’ after attending all 5 modules over a span of five weeks and becoming a “Rupee Rani” (Queen of Money).

We are also facilitating the opening of Savings Accounts for the women who don’t have bank accounts. This has been quite a challenge as it has been difficult to persuade the local banks to open “Zero Balance” / Basic Savings Accounts. We are now guiding the customers to open a regular savings account with a minimum balance of Rs.500 – Rs.1000 which most banks are willing to open for them.

Once a customer successfully ‘graduates’ from the program and has a bank account or starts one with the help of Ujjivan, she is entitled to an extra Rs.2000 on her credit limit. She also becomes eligible to receive a preferential Individual Loan if she has been an Ujjivan client for more than two years. Ujjivan is also piloting cashless disbursements, providing customers with instant advantages for having successfully completed the Diksha Financial Literacy Program.

We hope that once these women have gone through the Diksha program, they will not only be able to save for a rainy day but will also share their financial knowledge with their children. 

To know more about Diksha's Financial Literacy Program: www.parinaam.org/diksha_flp.html">http://www.parinaam.org/diksha_flp.html

Feedback from some of the customers who have been through the program:

Nandini Anil Mane: I never maintained any financial records of our day to day expenses, but after attending Diksha sessions, I have started recording our day to day expenses regularly. My daughter has also begun maintaining the financial dairy for her daily expenses and I am also teaching my friends to do the same and save for their future.

Quoting Mahatma Phule, she says “if a single women in a family gets literate, the entire family becomes literate and if a family becomes literate then the community also becomes literate”

Seetha:''There were regular disputes in my family due to poor management of finance; but this completely stopped for the past 3 weeks as we have started keeping all the records of every expense and now have complete hold on our finance management.”

Jarina:“I have learned of the importance of savings and how to lead my life with minimum expenditure and financial commitments. I am now confident of controlling my borrowings from an external source.”

The winter season this year in the Northern parts of India was colder than normal. Temperatures dropped down to near zero in a many places. Deaths due to cold were not uncommon. Dense fog and spells of brutally icy-cold winds from the North were the norm every day. The brunt of the winter harshness was borne by the people living in the slums and on the streets. It is they who were the most severely impacted and many succumbed to the unbearable cold. Winter shelters were either overcrowded or not used at all.

Once again, all the employees of the Northern Region came together to collect clothes for donation to the needy including a few of our microfinance customers in the branch areas spread across the region. Clothes and blankets were distributed by the staff in the slum areas between 12th January - Swami Vivekananda's 150th Birth Anniversary and 14th January - Makar Sankranti.

Declaration from Ujjivan Financial Services Private Limited with regard to articles published in sections of media alleging corruption by banks and microfinance institutions in farm loan waiver schemes

TO WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN

This is with reference to the articles, published in sections of the media, regarding the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report on UPA l's Rs.52,000 Crore Farm Loan Waiver Scheme.

The articles are based on the CAG's inquiry into about 1 lakh farm loan waiver accounts in 700 bank branches across the country, involving disbursement of Rs.500 Crores. Apparently, according to the CAG's report, about 30% of the waiver amount was allegedly found to have been siphoned off by a nexus of bank managers and Microfinance Institutions (MFls).

The reports state that more than Rs. 150 crore was paid to half a dozen MFls that did not provide any relevant records to the banks verifying that the benefits had actually gone to deserving farmers.

We hereby certify and confirm that Ujjivan Financial Services Private Limited has not been a beneficiary or availed any facilities or disbursements under the aforesaid Farm Loan Waiver Scheme and no payments under the aforesaid Scheme have been extended by Ujjivan Financial Services Private Limited.
 

We would also like to state that as a registered Non-Banking Financial Company MFI, we are complying with all RBI rules and regulations as applicable, as well as the Industry Code of Conduct, as prescribed by the Micro Finance Institution Network (MFIN).

Ujjivan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd.

SAMIT GHOSH
Managing Director

February 11, 2013

Download original Declaration

As one takes a right turn at the Nakhra junction on the busy Bhubaneshwar-Cuttack highway, and travels another two kilometres, one comes across Phulnakhra, a non-descript town about 20 kilometres from Bhubaneshwar. It is in towns like these around the country that India’s traditional and world-renowned art and handicrafts have been born centuries ago. And so, it is with pattachitra – a traditional painting style of Odisha based on Hindu mythology. All colours used in the paintings are natural and are made fully in the old traditional way. In Odisha, these artists are known as Chitrakaras and their title remains mostly Mohapatra or Moharana.

With changing times and taste there has been a dip in demand for handicrafts and most crafts persons are giving up their traditional craft to pursue more lucrative professions. So it comes as a surprise when we come across 24 year old Kalpana Moharana who wants to develop her skills further and expand her pattachitra business.

Household conditions

Kalpana belongs to a very poor family. Her father and brother undertake furniture work while her mother and sister-in-law run the household. Despite depressing financial conditions, Kalpana completed her matriculation in 2002 and then had to drop out of school. Their monthly household income was around Rs.6000. She being the youngest girl in the household, Kalpana’s freedom was restricted by her family.

After a few years of helping out in the household and doing odd jobs, Kalpana was allowed to learn the art of pattachitra from traditional expert artisans at Kendupitha, a village nearby about 2 kilometres away. Gradually, she got more interested in the work and picked up the skills quickly. At last, she felt that she found a purpose to her life.

Within a year of her training, Kalpana started working on her own pattachitra designs from home.

Pattachitra artistry & economics

It takes around 12 hours to make one pattachitra sized 23" x 11". Prices are decided on the type of design and rates per square inch. Kalpana earns about Rs.250-300 per piece of pattachitra this size. Her expenses are in procuring the canvas bundles and the natural colours. Typically, for a pattachitra of this size, her expenses are around Rs.100. Kalpana earns around Rs.3000 per month from the sales of her pattachitras.

Major retail outlets in tourist intensive cities such as Bhubaneshwar place their orders for pattachitras and Kalpana produces these accordingly.

She was one of Ujjivan’s first customers when it began operations in Phulanakhra. She took a loan in order to purchase the canvas in bulk at better rates. Today, she has a loan of Rs.12000 in her third year of association with Ujjivan.

Cultural challenges

Kalpana is confident of her skills and talents in making pattachitras and feels she can do even better if she undergoes further training and if allowed to display her exquisite work at exhibitions or fairs in bigger towns and cities. Kalpana’s main dejection is due the restrictions placed by her family regarding her travels. She knows that her household financial conditions would improve much more if she can produce more pattachitras with complex designs.

Demand for uniquely design pattachitras is now growing, and she wants to make best use of the opportunity. A few of her bigger and intricate pattachitras have already been sold for a few thousand rupees. The conservative mindset of her family continues to hold her back from achieving her dreams and improving her family’s economic conditions towards prosperity.

An Overview

Ujjivan was invited for the Pacific Regional Forum held at Auckland, New Zealand from February 28 to March 1, 2013 to share best practices in building an organizational culture that values human capital and creative ways of building capacity in a resource-constrained environment.  

The Forum was organized by Women’s World Banking (WWB), a global microfinance network of 39 financial institutions from 28 countries, with support from the New Zealand Aid Programme and the Asian Development Bank.  The program featured global best practices from the WWB network as well as highlight local successful microfinance practices in the Pacific. The audience included over 60 Pacific microfinance stakeholders comprising practitioners, policy makers and regulators, donors and support organizations and the WWB network members.

The Pacific

The Pacific consists of 20 small island countries geographically dispersed in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are demographical dispersed with a population of about 9 million people with strong traditional socio-economic structures. The larger population is spread among Fiji Islands (8 lakhs), Papua New Guinea (PNG - 59 lakhs), Samoa (2.20 lakhs), Vanuatu (2.19 lakhs).  The economy is mostly agriculture based and partly tourism based. There are also political instability and ethnic tensions in some countries. The increasing levels of youth unemployment and emerging social problems have raised questions about the extent of poverty and hardship.

Microfinance in the Pacific

Geographic isolation and demographic dispersion has led to high transaction costs and cost transfer to clients. This has limited the delivery of financial services and made it more inefficient. Generally the performances of MFIs have been therefore, unsatisfactory financially. The viability of service was realized over a longer period. In addition, limited income-generating opportunities and low financial literacy levels also pose challenges.

Governmental Support

Governments have expressed interest in microfinance and are willing to support these initiatives in individual countries. There has been a lot of effort to educate and raise awareness in the Central Banks in the Pacific through PFIP, particularly on microfinance and financial literacy.

PFIP Program:

The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) is a Pacific-wide programme helping provide sustainable financial services to low income households. PFIP is funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), European Union, and AusAID and operates from the UNDP Pacific Centre. 

MFI Outreach (2010)*:

*Situation has not largely changed today

MFI Opportunities:

Mobile Phone Banking has seen substantial progress in Fiji. Mobile companies have launched mobile money services. The forum felt the capacity to reach the unbanked in a massive scale.

The Session:

Ujjivan was invited to be part of the Panel on Human Resources on the theme: “Transforming Institutions by Investing in Human Talent”.

Mr.Vittal Rangan, Head of HR represented Ujjivan at the discussion. The other members in this Panel were: Ms. Dolores Torres, President and CEO, CARD Bank Inc., Philippines; Ms Shweta Sud, Executive Director, Institute of Banking and Business Management, PNG; Mr Tony Westaway, Managing Director, Nationwide Microbank Ltd., PNG.

The Panel shared thoughts on the Principles to building an organizational culture that values its human talent, what role do leaders play in setting the tone for a ‘learning’ organization, how does staff gender diversity enable an institution to deliver on its mission, what are the different and creative ways of building capacity in a resource-constrained environment.

Vittal shared Ujjivan’s experience on building an institution where the employee comes first. Ujjivan’s Talent Management Model operates on three pillars: (1) Recruitment: getting the right people in (2) Engagement: making employees feel at home and (3) Feedback: where and why are employees exiting. Some of Ujjivan's HR best practices shared in the forum included:

• Our recruitment process of hiring through customer referral thereby ensuring the natural-social connect of the candidate during selection;
• Engaging the employees to the mission of the organization;
• Leadership time on people issues (they travel for at least 10 days a month connecting with employees on field). How ‘People & Culture Building’ is Leadership Agenda and not HR agenda with CEO leading by example (with specific reference to Pacific where most organizations are small and do not have an HR department of their own);
• ‘Walk the Talk’ is a critical differentiator for Ujjivan e.g. the 7.00 pm time rule for staff with the CEO leaving office punctually and expecting staff to do so too
• Gender Diversity making business-sense at Ujjivan (WWB study at Ujjivan demonstrated that customer defaults, loan utilization show good results when customers are handled by women). Vittal also shared the HR challenges and how the local demographic affects the working population and thereby our ability to hire women employees.
• Sensitivity to the local culture and linking management decisions to this was an idea well received by the Pacific participants

Overall, the discussion was on building sustainability for the staff first, for the organization to be successful in the long run. This being independent of HR department.

During the Q&A session, the participants showed specific interest on Ujjivan's Training & Leadership Development initiatives e.g. our Management Associate Program and 1^st& 2^nd level supervisory programs. Our Social Development Program where branch staff together with employees conduct the welfare projects, was also discussed.

A booklet: “What Makes Ujjivan a Great Place To Work” carrying a summary of our Best Practices can be downloaded here.

Ujjivan’s CFO, Ms.Sudha Suresh was honoured with the Winning Edge in Risk Management award instituted by The CFO Institute and CFO India Magazine. She is in the list of the CFO100 Roll of Honour.

The CFO100 is an annual benchmark for rising stars among India's CFOs. It is an annual initiative to recognise India's finance leader's extraordinary contributions to the corporate world. CFO India magazine identifies and brings together 100 CFOs, who are clearly a cut above the others, to honour their achievements in areas including cost management, raising capital, green initiatives, risk management, governance and strategy.

The awards jury consists of celebrated industry leaders and well-established CFOs of India’s largest organisations and conglomerates.

Post-October 2010, the microfinance sector faced its biggest crisis since inception. The banks and Financial Institutions had curtailed their lending to MFIs. During these critical months when many MFIs were facing severe liquidity issues, Ujjivan managed to keep afloat, sourcing funds through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and loan securitizations. We were one of the first MFIs to receive funding when few banks opened up to selective MFIs.

Ujjivan successfully raised equity capital of Rs.1280 million – one of the highest in the sector during the crisis period. This also included the entry of two new global investors. In 2012-13, Ujjivan raised equity of an additional Rs.472.8 million, one of the highest in this fiscal.

Ujjivan’s portfolio quality held up well in the context of the crisis. We continued to lend to existing customers in affected areas who demonstrated strong credit discipline. Our credit risk was contained through several credit initiatives: introduction of revised group lending - removal of financial guarantee in the higher cycles, implementation of branch-wise credit policies based on occupation, income levels & history of credit behaviour, mandatory credit bureau checks on all our loans etc.

Read more about Sudha Suresh’s background here

Ujjivan, one of India’s leading microfinance institutions in partnership with IIMPS (Invest India Micro-Pension Services) launched two micro-pension products for over 10 lakh urban poor women across India. On 8^th April, over 300 microfinance customers attended a pension awareness function in Pune. The program also marked the launch of the scheme.

The event was chaired by Mr Debashish Mohanty, Country Head – Retail & Executive Vice President, UTI Asset Management Company Ltd., Mr Gautam Bharadwaj, MD & Co-Founder – IIMPS and Mr.Jolly Zachariah, COO (West) – Ujjivan.

The Micro Mutual Fund, a retirement benefit pension fund is a government-notified pension scheme managed by UTI while NPS-Lite is a long-term retirement savings plan offered by LIC-HF. Both products are being provided to Ujjivan customers

Ujjivan has recently begun educating and helping enrolment of individual microfinance clients for the integrated financial solution. Each client uses her own prepaid card to transmit her periodic micro-savings for her old age directly to regulated product providers such as UTI and NPS-Lite (National Pension Scheme).

At the function, an audio visual was screened for the customers to help them understand the importance of Pensions and the security it provides during old age.

“We cannot build better lives with 1 or 2 year thought process. Development happens when we integrate today with tomorrow & Micro Pensions is a step towards Financial Inclusion rather than just a financial product”, said Jolly Zachariah. He shared the progress Ujjivan has made in micro credit serving over 10 lakh customers nationally. The efforts made by the company in partnership and directly, meeting social needs by going the extra mile through Social Development Programs, Health interventions, the Diksha Financial Literacy Program, etc were discussed with the gathering .

This partnership model with IIMPS will deliver an integrated and well regulated financial solution to financially-excluded households at an affordable cost. The model harnesses the network of Ujjivan’s 301 branches in 20 states (including 48 under-banked districts) around the country, enabling women in low income households to accumulate micro-savings for their various lifecycle needs including old age.

Mr. Debashish Mohanty, Chief Guest at the function addressed the gathering: “90% of the population have a need for pensions but are unable to enroll because they are either not aware of the options or do not have the financial capability to save at a relatively young age. Because of this financial indecision, most people face the challenging situation of being dependant on others during old age”. He applauded Ujjivan & IIMPS for taking the effort to make this scheme available for around 10 lakh Ujjivan customers. He also explained the need for all to be self-reliant.

Mr Gautam Bhardwaj started his speech with a popular Hindi saying “Jab jaago tabhi savera” (When you wake up, it is morning then) encouraging customers that it is never too late to enroll in the scheme. He took the customers on walk down memory lane with anecdotes on how the idea of Micro pensions germinated. He also explained the simplicity of the enrolling, "Micro-pension offers financial security for the urban poor. To simplify the process, the card is the only document to be maintained."

The Program ended with testimonials by customers who have enrolled in the scheme and also by few senior citizens who expressed regret about not having realized the need to get into such scheme in their young age and were now facing stress.

Savita More, Ujjivan’s first customer from Pune North branch said, “I got to know about Ujjivan offering pension and immediately discussed with my husband. He suggested that this service is going to benefit us in future and will be the bedrock in our old age”.

Shirin Sheikh, an Ujjivan customer from Pune East branch proudly told the audience “My father was in military and because of him our mother got Rs 6000/- as monthly pension which helped her educate my brother and sister. I can proudly say that I am now a pension holder. I would request all ladies to keep aside savings for the future because you cannot predict bad times”.

Program coverage in Indian Express:

http://m.indianexpress.com/news/micropension-scheme-for-women-launched/1100194/

Kolkata is the “land of festivals”, with 15 celebrated annually, from Poilo Basakhi to Bhai Phonta. At most festivals beautiful idols with colourful sarees and ornaments are the centre of attraction for all. Bengali artistic idols are famous all over the country, as well as abroad. Elements of the idols, like colour, costumes and ornaments, are produced by local, small manufacturers. This niche market has great potential to grow as a cottage industry.

Mrs. Shankari Kundu, age 42, is one of the manufacturers of costumes for idols. She makes ornaments and costumes at her home. Shankari got married at an early age when her husband, in service, earned a minimal salary. Dependent on such a low income, the family found it difficult to live according to the lifestyle they desired.  As a solution, Shankari decided in 2008 to join Ujjivan via the Subhashgram Branch in Kolkata.  She took a business loan of Rs.8000/- to support the personal business she launched between 2003 - 2004.  She wished to take on - and grow - the family business of manufacturing costumes for idols.

Starting out with a mere 2 metres of cloth, Shankari could make just a few sets of costumes. The first challenge she faced was sales. To ascertain demand, she sent her husband to the street to sell the product in front of a daily market.  Gradually, with lots of effort and dedication, the couple started seeing results. Shankari’s products are now well received and, day by day, demand increases. With activity flourishing, volume has increased to a level that allows Shankari to buy her raw materials at wholesale rates.  She is a familiar face at Bara Bazaar, India’s largest wholesale market.  With her final products she returns to Bara Bazaar, in addition to the Kalighat and Garia Markets to sell her inventory as part of the high-volume wholesale trade. (*Kolkata Cultural Note of Interest: Kalighat is a popular destination for pilgrims, as it is home to the “Ma Kali Temple”, one of India’s well-known devotional sites).

Shankari works year-round filling large orders of her basic product line, as well as customized products to meet unique market needs. She plans to expand her territory by exporting to Assam. Today, she is working with 8 to 10 Than (1 Than = 20 – 22 metres) of cloth per week, though to meet actual demand she requires much more. With the services of Ujjivan, Shankari has gradually purchased 4 motor double sewing machines and has employed 10 permanent female workers, 2 of which are dedicated soley to packaging.  Clients now come and call directly on Shankari at her home, reflecting her value in the marketplace.  Her dream is to soon design a sophisticated, commercial “Workshop” within the house, to further increase business, while adding the capacity to monitor transactions in a truly professional manner.

As a successful, returning customer, Shankari last year received a Business loan of Rs.25,000/- from Ujjivan.  This year, after closing that Group Loan, she plans to solicit a larger, Individual Business Loan.  Through her hard work and commitment, and a partnership with Ujjivan, Shankari is a powerful example of a woman determined to “Build a Better Life.”

How would we describe the Summer Camp in one simple sentence? “In every way the Parinaam Summer Camp is all that is good and all that is bad about our beautiful country - India!”  Through all the chaos and mayhem, there is still harmony. While it can be overwhelming, frustrating and very exhausting, it is still also very fulfilling and welcoming, presenting all those involved with a great opportunity to grow, learn, and - most importantly - to have fun.

The summer camp began with immense excitement. The children, who seemed geared up for 5 weeks of fun and frolic, were organised by four new interns with the help and guidance of the Parinaam staff. Since the summer camp covers seven areas in and around Bangalore, it was necessary to involve teachers, who would take over the entire summer camp for the children along with the help of the community workers, for their respective areas. More than 250 children, from age 3 to 13, attended across the seven centres.

A lesson plan was created before the summer camp commenced.  Each of the five weeks was assigned a theme, to be reflected through colours, festivals or basic General Knowledge. The lesson plans were aimed at familiarizing the children with basic English and Math, while also passing on some general information that most children their age are taught. Activities were also conducted daily after the lesson, offering fun, a channel for their creativity and a chance to carry something home with them. The children were also made aware of basic etiquette and courtesy through the repeating of greetings to the teachers – “good morning”,  “good afternoon” and constant reminders to say “thank you” when served lunch, “sorry” when they had done something wrong, etc. Washing hands before eating and carrying a handkerchief to class were compulsory to enforce a basic level of hygiene as well.

Through the course of the summer camp, children were served both breakfast (biscuits and juice) and lunch. This was not simply a treat for the children, as the intention was to provide nutrition while enhancing the value of food and water. At the close of camp, personalized folders were handed over to parents containing a summary of each child’s activities, and any materials produced, over the course of the Summer Camp.

On first impressions, these areas are more in tune with depictions of India in western movies, than we are used to seeing in our everyday lives. Classes are conducted in make-shift huts or small classrooms.

Such factors become secondary, if not completely negated, when one simply enters one of these classrooms and sees the faces of the (mostly) excited, smiling children, all so very eager to learn. On spending some time with these children, one realises not only the vast amount of potential that these kids possess, and how incredibly smart they are, but also how grounded and grateful they are for everything that they have and receive. Complaints are as rare as electricity or water, and smiles are as abundant as mosquitoes!

For those who have the opportunity to spend time at the Summer Camp, the children’s sense of community and contentment is cause for pause and reflection. In many ways, we have as much to learn from them as they have to learn from us. They teach us lessons in companionship, trust, faith, hope, compromise and gratitude - values that are often lost in our highly competitive and globalized world. To see these children so happy and in possession of such values puts things in perspective, especially in conditions that many would define as representing “hardship”.  We most certainly hope that the lessons learned from these children are lessons not easily forgotten.

Written By:

Namratha Paul – Summer Camp Intern

Abhishek Sheth – Summer Camp Intern

Three years ago, a question was raised in our office: “How do we, as an MFI, impact the lives of our customers?” The follow-up question was obvious: “How do we measure Ujjivan’s impact?” The team decided to explore answers to such thought-provoking questions by commissioning Delphi Research Services to conduct an exhaustive study. The ‘Impact Assessment Survey’, part of Ujjivan's Social Performance Management Program, was designed to assess changes in the lifestyles of Ujjivan customers occurring over a 3-year period.

Round 1 of the study, a Baseline Survey completed in 2010, utilized the Cerise and PPI (Progress Out of Poverty Index) methodology.  3,272 Ujjivan customers across 15 towns and 9 states in India were interviewed. This robust sample provided rich insights into the incomes, expenses and savings patterns of our customers. It was noted that many responses were, what we would call “politically correct” answers.  The research group suspects this reflected a population that was “extremely MFI savvy”, having experienced, just five years prior, the launch of this new and intriguing urban service.  Part of Round 1’s strategy was to ascertain tangible benchmarks that could be used as an efficient comparison mechanism for the data collection that would follow in Round 2.  

After a period of 3 years, the time arrived to revisit and re-evaluate the lives of this pool of Ujjivan customers. Round 2 commenced in February 2013 with the intention of interviewing all 3,272 customers in the original sample. An alarming 54% of those customers, though, had dropped out from Ujjivan. Therefore Round 2 examined only the 1,474 returning customers, those who were still active borrowers at Ujjivan. Results yielded insights into changes in quality of life, income and consumption patterns of these customers.

Overall, data from Round 2 indicated a marked improvement in the lives of close to 99% of the interviewed customers. The quality of life metrics including the PPI scores resonate with the positive well being of the customer over the 3 year period.

Key Indicators:

77% of the active customers in Round 2 claimed that everything was going well in both their personal and professional lives (an opinion voiced by only 54% of the same group during Round 1). The average household income among this group has increased by over 85% - from a mere Rs.8000 to over Rs 15000, while average monthly household expenses increased by 44% - a positive refection of a surplus for most. The impact of the prevalent global recession on our customers seems to be negligible. During a time when millions jobless, 11% of our customers have more than 1 job.

A majority of our customers are well informed and aware of Aadhar cards (57%) and traditional banking services (63% have accounts). A whopping 36% of our customers also receive SMS alerts from their respective banks which shows that technology can indeed break all socio-economic barriers.

Over the years, education has also gained importance. 40% of the interviewees have enrolled their children in private schools as compared to 28% in 2010 with 12% of them making the shift from government to private schools.

We also learned that 81% of customers are using the notional surplus to save money, while in 2010/Round 1, only 63% were adopting this behavior.  The savings component -13% in 2010 –has climbed to 18% in 2013. Additionally, 24% of the customers are now well protected by a life insurance policy as compared to 16% in 2010.

The PPI Score is 67, up from 57 in the baseline survey, corresponding to a 1% probability of households having a per capita income of US$ 1 per day, 22% probability of US$ 1.50 per day and 50% probability of US$ 2 per day which empirically proves that there has been a financial improvement in the lives of our customers.

A combination of both extrinsic and intrinsic factors contribute to the improvement of each household and hence we cannot single out Ujjivan as the sole contributor. However, Ujjivan is providing an alternative and cheaper source of finance thereby helping them to build a better life !

In addition to being recognized each year as one of India’s best companies to work for via the “Great Place to Work” awards, Ujjivan was recently honored as being the 2nd Best Company for our Rewards & Recognition Practice in 2013.

In 2013, 104 companies participated in this nomination category, only 15 made it to final list for their exemplary practices. As a part of the research and selection process, the Great Place to Work ® Institute studied in detail the policies and practices shared by the participating companies and analysed their impact on employee motivation and productivity. Our employees have rated the impact of our rewards and recognition practices as one of the best in Industry.

Some of the best practices of Ujjivan are featured in the Research Report entitled“Building a High Performance Workforce: a Study on Rewards & Recognition practices in India”.

The Top 5 companies recognized this year are : 1) Intel Technology India 2) Ujjivan Financial Services  3) NTPC  4) American Express India 5) 'RADIOCITY - 91.1 FM'  

The main award event for India’s Top 25 Great Places To Work will take place in June, 2013.

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