Women’s needs are to be understood in all their dimensions:

The mission of Friends of Women’s World Banking (FWWB) focuses on the above to assist in the formation and strengthening of people’s organisations, bringing them into the mainstream of the economy, and thereby enabling them to participate in the process of nation building. FWWB is committed to building a society based on equity and social justice where women are the leaders of social change through systems for providing credit to women and other services such as training, guidance and regular follow up. This effort is beginning to bear fruit, and this article illustrates some of the results at field level.

FWWB credit is typically designed to be given through NGOs. Though the contact is with the group directly, it is the NGO which channels the credit from FWWB to the group. The NGO may keep a small margin as a service charge to cover its costs, but often because of availability of other funds to sustain their promotional efforts or for reasons of philosophy, NGOs do not levy this service charge.

The characteristic of FWWB credit is that it is prompt. The process from initial contact to assessment, sanction, contract and disbursement takes not more than three months. In some cases it may take four to five months, owing to delays in signing of contracts, and taking decisions on loan sanction.

The other aspect is the thorough credit assessment at the grassroots level. The head of the oganisation visits and meets the women members directly, and an assessment of the strength of the groups, and the capacity of the members to use the given loans, is made.

This article draws lessons from organisations: SHARE, and MYRADA. The operations of the two organisations are very different, both in character, and in the nature of impact. SHARE works exclusively with women, while the latter has men’s groups, and some mixed groups as well. FWWB credit is channelled only through women’s groups. The table below highlights some of the characteristics of FWWB credit to women’s groups through the two NGOs.

One of questions often asked by NGOs is: How do we advise women as to what business to take up ? The answer from these case studies, and from earlier understanding of the field is: DON’T ADVISE THEM! Women know what business would be good for their villages. If they don’t, they will learn. The NGO needs to stand by them in the process of trial and error. It needs to inculcate in them a sense of urgency for profits.

Women only need to learn credit discipline. They do not need advice about project selection. In fact, often NGO staff know less about local business than women do, and cannot guide women the way their own peer group can, about how to assess their projects. Thus, project selection is best left to the women entrepreneurs themselves.

Another question that merits an answer is the secret of 100 per cent repayment. This is not difficult to understand. The group is formed of homogeneous people, usually friends and neighbours. They pledge accountability to one another. They usually keep their promises. Further, the NGO tunes the repayment instalments to the needs and conveniences of the group. Repayment is often coordinated with agricultural seasons. The underlying belief being that good credit discipline should be main-tained, and that small and frequent instalments would, in the end, help people with small businesses to repay the loan easily.

There is nothing feminine per se about the businesses that women start. There are several cases of trade in agricultural commodities, of butchery, petty shops, bullock carts, etc. The primary consideration seems to be: ability to manage the business well and the expected earning from it. No other gender stereotyping of use of credit is either apparent from the field study, or necessary.

There is no doubt that poor women, who otherwise would have had little access to credit, have benefited a great deal from the support of the NGOs by getting themselves organised into groups, and availing the credit facility from FWWB. Credit has not only benefited the women, but their families as a whole.

They also felt that they were getting more respect and support from their husbands and elders of the family. One of them gave an example : "Earlier, we went to other people’s wells to fetch water (she used the simile of water for credit), we got little water, but more of insults. Now, with the group, our needs are met. We do not have to approach anybody outside. We have our own savings and funds."