The focus of Central India
Initiative has been impacting livelihoods of tribal communities in
Central India
.
One of the important impediments for livelihood promotion in these areas has been
limited or no access to quality financial services.
CInI along with its partners has
promoted about 12,000 Self Help Groups (SHG) with
an outreach of 150,000 families, as part of different field projects.
Given the focus of the Central India Initiative to promote livelihoods, integration
of microfinance services is very critical in the context of CInI. Therefore, within
the initiative, the goal will be towards facilitating access to sustainable financial
services to support livelihood activities of the poor. To achieve this, all the stakeholders
would be oriented towards better SHG promotion and building sustainable
community based microfinance programmes.
The meaning of community based microfinance initiatives for CInI is that the financial
inclusion is taken care of for the tribal households, through promotion of village
institutions and linkages with formal banking systems for developing livelihood
initiatives. With this core approach, the aspects of quality SHG promotion, ensuring
strong internal lending and savings, linkages with banking systems, livelihood planning
and promoting micro enterprises, etc.
are being strongly focused.
Santhal Pargana in Deoghar, one of the most backward districts in Jharkhand, has
been selected to demonstrate the concept of community based microfinance promotion.
The initiative would therefore focus on developing appropriate financial products
for supporting Kharif paddy, Kharif maize and other agricultural interventions to
promote livelihoods, initiate a pilot to demonstrate financial sustainability of
people’s institutions, reach out to the excluded marginalized and promote strategic
partnership with mainstream financial an enabling institutions to facilitate an
enabling environment for the poor.