Empowering BoP, in India and elsewhere

At best of times, convenience and efficiency is the value we add [thru' our product and services]. It is heartening to see when a person or organization's efforts result in empowering and liberating their client base. Microfinancing is one such initiative.

On my recent visit to India, I visited a few women's Self Help Groups (SHGs) to see the impact of micro-finance to their lives, and the role mobile commerce can play in rural settings. It was heart-warming to see these women, who come from very conservative backgrounds and who barely know to read and write, thru' financial empowerment, are sending their daughters and sons to college and hoping to break the wretched cycle of poverty for ever. The hope and aspirations in the eyes of these individuals, are also those that exist in eyes of folks in Latin America, Africa, China and elsewhere.

It is amazing to notice the flood of money heading to the bottom of the pyramid (BoP). Some of the Micro-Finacial Institutions (MFIs) I spoke with were planning for 5x to 10x growth over the next 2-3 years.

Guess what, folks at the BoP I spoke with have mobile phones. They are starting to get connected with the internet. In the coming years, as MFIs optimize their service delivery in their attempts to scale, mobile commerce will truly take off. I sincerely hope that the regulators in India facilitate this transition.

Please feel to contact me if you would like more details about this case study, or related opportunities.

Note about the pictures: The first group is a starter group which is striving to get its first loan. The second group is a veteran group, been together for 4 years and currently working thru their 5th loan. You can see the difference empowerment makes in the eyes and demeanor of these two groups.

Disruptive innovations in payments - BoP style

In emerging markets, often the growth opportunity in the payments industry lies in addressing the un-banked. While addressing opportunities at the bottom-of-the-pyramid is challenging, financial inclusion empowers the un-banked to be both producers and consumers, thereby unlocking a viable business opportunity.

While looking at payments opportunities in India, addressing the unbanked / under-served forces its way into any brainstorming session. This could be because of innovations around branchless banking, novel methods of handling KYC mandates, reducing documentation/paperwork associated with opening a new bank account, zero-cost bank accounts, leveraging technology without being encumbered by legacy… When you are trying to create a profitable business from millions of customers who earn less than $100/month, you think thru’ the problem in a very different way. Resulting in a raft of innovations can be truly disruptive. CGAP has been successfully promoting this cause for a while now. I've enjoyed participating in the CGAP group on LinkedIn as well.

It is in this context that I ran into Sanjay Bhargava, who has been championing Universal Financial Access. He brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm into a daunting initiative, and makes it seem achievable. His attitude is so infectious, that I figured a lot more space needs to be devoted to the Universal Financial Access project (subject of another blog).

Is BoP a lost cause? Is Universal Financial Access an oxymoron? What are your thoughts?