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Tackling Poverty

"Rojiroti consists of members from extremely poor backgrounds and from the lowest castes. It helps the poorest of the poor" 

 Interview with Sudha Devi, Rojiroti Staff Member, 22nd October 2017


Below we explain how Rojiroti has consistently met its objective to reach and include women from the most marginalised communities and to design an approach which meets their needs. 

Inclusive savings and loan groups

Emergency loans and flexible repayment

Inclusive savings and loan groups

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The savings and loan group is a familiar concept in microfinance, but Rojiroti groups are unusual.


Group members can join through depositing very small amounts as weekly savings. Sometimes deposits have been as little as Rs 0.50 per member (agreed by the group as a whole). We believe that no other microfinance organisation would accept members depositing such small amounts but to us it is essential that no aspiring member should be excluded. 


Very small loans can also be made (for example, Rs 50). This can be of critical importance for poor people whose most urgent need may be for food, for other essentials such as fuel, or for medical treatment. 


"Rojiroti gives loans according to our requirements, so small loans of Rs 500 [£5] are also available. The loan amount and repayment instalment are both decided by the borrower rather than the organisation."

Interview with Savitri Devi, Rojiroti Staff Member, 21st October 2017


These small loans can be more relevant to their needs than ‘income-generating’ or ‘productive’ loans typically promoted by microfinance providers. These loans, of several thousand Rupees, are well beyond the risk-horizon of someone dependent on day labour. Loans of this type are taken by Rojiroti members (for buying a sewing machine, or a buffalo, or for setting up a small workshop) but most commonly by established rather than early-stage borrowers.

Multiple loan purposes

Emergency loans and flexible repayment

Inclusive savings and loan groups

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Rojiroti loans can be taken for any purpose. This is a highly important and unusual feature of the model, which distinguishes Rojiroti from most microfinance lenders.


"The purpose of loans is limited in other groups, but in Rojiroti, we can borrow for all purposes, such as illness, to pay the tuition or school fees of our children, etc." 

Focus Group with Rojiroti Members, 31st October 2017.


Freedom to the borrower still requires them to state the purpose for which they need the loan when making an application. This is recorded by the group coordinator, but it is not within the power of the coordinator to approve or reject the loan. It will be paid provided that the members of the borrower’s group support the application.


This requirement for group support enables Rojiroti to manage requests for a huge range of loan purposes. A borrower’s group members know the borrower, understand the purpose for which the loan is being requested, can judge whether the outcome is likely to be successful, and know the borrower’s likely ability to repay. 



Emergency loans and flexible repayment

Emergency loans and flexible repayment

Emergency loans and flexible repayment

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It is important to borrowers whose livelihoods are precarious that applications for loans are processed quickly. A simple example is that money to be used for buying subsidised food and other necessities from a Government PDS store needs to be available to be used during the store’s limited opening times. Rojiroti therefore processes small loans (below Rs 2000) ver quickly. This is becoming easier to achieve as digital technology is increasingly used.


"Rojiroti helps its members during crises and arranges for the loan at that place, be it at the hospital or anywhere... other organisations refuse bluntly."

Interview with Rinku Devi, Rojiroti Staff Member, 6th November 2017


Loans for medical treatment are often real emergencies, and when this is the case loans can be brought into action very quickly. Technology is increasingly streamlining this process, since money can be paid directly to a hospital or clinic by bank transfer. 


Rojiroti's flexible repayment mechanisms also set it apart from other microfinance providers. Often strict repayment deadlines make it difficult for poor women to invest and have time to see the benefit of their loan. Additionally, it acknowledges that many members have precarious livelihoods where income shocks may affect their ability to repay loans to a set deadline.


"We can repay Rojiroti easily as per the availability of money at home. There is no requirement in Rojiroti to pay a fixed amount at a fixed time, which allows us to repay without having any stress."

Focus Group with Rojiroti Members, 10th November 2017

Loan information

Loan Purpose

Cultural Obligations

Cultural Obligations

Cultural Obligations

To mark life events with a ceremony and social gathering involving hospitality is common practice in Rojiroti's communities (as it is worldwide). Failure to treat this as an obligation can invite social marginalisation, so funerals or weddings are often funded by taking an informal loan with excessive interest, or by sale of assets. To meet social obligations is therefore regarded as a highly worthwhile purpose for a Rojiroti loan. 

Business

Cultural Obligations

Cultural Obligations

Launching a business is widely assumed to be the main purpose of microfinance loans. Rojiroti’s approach is different in that loans to enable small entrepreneurs to take advantage of income-generating opportunities use less than 20 percent of the budget. However, these loans are highly important in that they open secondary economic activity (i.e. other than farming) to a sizeable number of our members. 

Agriculture

Cultural Obligations

Agriculture

Agriculture provides livelihood for 90 percent of the households of Rojiroti members. Daily-paid labour accounts for much of this, but Rojiroti loans enable access to land members can farm themselves, via share-cropping or tenancy agreements (and sometimes land purchase); loans also provide working capital for seed and fertiliser. Some households find small-scale livestock raising an important source of income, and use loans to buy a cow or buffalo. 

Medical

Repayment of moneylender loans

Agriculture

Access to medical treatment both in emergency and for chronic illness has a major impact on quality of life for Rojiroti members, and can be life-saving as well as life-changing. Some 70 percent of medical loans taken are for assisted childbirth, providing huge benefit to women and their families in reducing risks to mother and child. Loans requiring an emergency response can now be made very speedily by electronic payment direct to hospital or clinic. 

Housing

Repayment of moneylender loans

Repayment of moneylender loans

In some villages, improved housing is a highly visible sign of Rojiroti’s activity. Many houses of traditional mud and thatch have either been replaced with buildings of brick or cement. Others have been improved by addition of framed windows and weatherproof (zinc or asbestos) roofs. Both benefit well-being by providing better ventilation, light and shelter. Rojiroti lending for this particular purpose is important in that housing improvement qualifies for a government subsidy which depends on work being complete. 

Repayment of moneylender loans

Repayment of moneylender loans

Repayment of moneylender loans

Informal moneylenders provide loans are available for very small amounts, for any purpose, and at very short notice (often on the spot), but in contrast to Rojiroti's loans, they carry a rate of interest of 60-120 percent (compared with Rojiroti’s 18 percent). Persistent debt to moneylenders can readily become part of a poverty trap and Rojiroti loans taken to clear informal debt offer liberation from this.Give customers a reason to do business with you.

Education

Other loan purposes

Other loan purposes

Children living in very poor households are often unable to attend school because of the cost of uniform, exercise books or pens and pencils, but Rojiroti loans are generally for private tuition of children who are attending government schools (which have notoriously low standards, particularly in rural Bihar). This represents a recognition by many parents that additional educational support can form a route out of poverty.

Other loan purposes

Other loan purposes

Other loan purposes

Of the three loan purposes noted above, life insurance savings is of particular interest. CPSL identified life insurance as an important and cost-effective way to enhance the security of members’ families. Rojiroti negotiated a low-cost, short term policy with national provider Kotak Life, with a returnable premium. Some access the policy by taking a loan to pay the initial premium (of Rs 200-1000 depending on the level of cover chosen).

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