Our Approch
DART™ applies ratings across a range of criteria to assess household and community institutions.
What We Do
ACCESS TO CREDIT IS KEY TO A COUNTRY’S INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT
More than 13 million micro are led by women in India (500 million Micro Small Enterprises Globally
RISK & COST
Financial institutions are unable to reach the unbanked & underserved and provide service on a cost-effective and sustainable basis due to:
- Lack of relevant data about nano, micro, and small borrowers
- Errors in data when collected, stored and transmitted to decision makers
STATISTICS
Around 220 million rural Indians remain unbanked consisting of small and marginal farmers, Nano, micro, and small entrepreneurs especially women
- 50 % women in India use their bank account in a limited manner or not at all
- 24% lack access to formal financial services.
UNMET DEMAND
Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) present an unmet demand of almost Rs. 25 trillion in India
- less than 5 % of MSMEs have access to formal credit
- As per Macro Finance Institutions Network (MFIN) estimates: Microfinance reaches < 20 % of potential households in India
- More than 13 million micro are led by women in India (500 million Micro Small Enterprises Globally)
- 100 million Nano women-led enterprises supported in National Rural Livelihood Program by Govt. of India/ states need hassle free access to credit
- Female active internet users grew by 61% since 2019 implying increasing demand for digital solutions
- According to the World Economic Forum, about 70 % of new value created in the economy over the next decade will be based on digitally enabled business models especially in financial services
The Digital Tool
We provide an authentic scoring mechanism based on extensive analytics of data, collected at the family and group level which is both quantitative and qualitative.
01 /Data Analytics & Solution
- Both financial and non-financial data are collected.
- In-depth analysis and customised solution
- Comprehensive data provides authentic assessment
- Data collected at the start and then updated annually when family
- Data collected at the start and then updated annually when family is rated
02 / Annul Rating
- Simplifies complex financial, social, institutional and contextual data into rating scores
- Generates capacity improvement plans for the low-rated
- Done annually and revisit data when required
03 /Real-Time Tracking
- Financial management and governance tracking
- Community-friendly interface to input data and go paperless
- KPI monitoring and impact tracking for evidence-based decisions.
- Monthly on a continuous basis
Assessing Each Level of the Lending Chain
Household Risk Assessment
- Visioning- Long term goals, challenges, support required
- Analysis – Assessing their financial situation & commitment to SHG rules.
- Planning – Creating customised financial plan, debt restructuring plan, loan requirements and preparing business plans.
- Financial Literacy – Budgeting, savings, business planning, debt impact and building resilience to financial shocks
- Well- Being – Behavioural change
Institutional Risk Assessment
- Governance
Inclusion - Efficiency
- Financial discipline
- Credit portfolio
- Savings
- Risk Mitigation and sustainability
Our Services
Digital Data Services
We offer data analysis, rating and tracking services to banks, micro-finance institutions, P2P platforms and governments interested in lending to the financially excluded. We do Individual and Institutional ratings.
- Our unique analytics is based on a comprehensive list of indicators and data points, which provide authentic assessments and risk-rating in an easy-to-understand format, in real-time.
- Effective facilitation techniques are critical to collecting authentic data, therefore our methodology combines technology with human interaction to gain clear insights. This builds the trust of borrowers and their organizations as well.
Technical Assistance & Capacity Building
Insights derived from the analytics help us to achieve a granular understanding of households and last mile institutions, thus allowing us to take a more deliberate approach and design customized services. We offer the following:
- Tailored and hands-on financial literacy training to the households which helps them understand their financial situation and family development priorities. We strive to improve their business planning skills and equip them with strategies that will help them reduce their vulnerabilities.
- Customized Technical Assistance Packages (TAP) to the last mile institutions. This helps to build their capacity and strengthen them in administration and management of their credit portfolio, governance, inclusion aspects, savings and risk reduction strategies.
- Hands-on training to the field partners to build capacity at the local and state level in using the DART tool to support the last mile institutions and households in achieving their goals and tracking their performance and impact.
Research & Impact assistance
DART™ can be used by third parties to maintain a comprehensive database of financial and non-financial data for their beneficiaries.
- We can create customized reports depending upon each clients request and priority areas.
- The comprehensive database allows us to generate specific reports which can be used for research and analysis by governments, financial institutions and impact agencies.
Who do We Serve
We work directly with
- Government Agencies
- NGOs & Impact Organizations
- Micro-finance Institutions
- Banks and other Financial Institutions
Through our partners, we reach out to last mile institutions, underserved households and women enterprises by providing them financial literacy, business planning skills, risk reduction strategies, and capacity of the SHGs & federations to serve their member households
CHALLENGES
OUR SOLUTION
Financial institutions are unable to serve the unbanked and underserved due to limited or no data
We collect data at the source and take into account the risks of potential borrowers. Granular data pertaining to borrowers’ behaviour allows us to develop ratings, for unbiased and effective selection of borrowers for funding
Systematic & timely risk assessments and reporting are mostly absent
We analyze, identify and rate loan-ready borrowers and track their performance, which is updated in real time. We revisit the data as and when required and carry out a yearly performance measurement
Costs associated with lending are high for the unbanked
Algorithm- based borrower loan request processing, approval, disbursement and tracking provides for a tool that can be trusted, ultimately bringing down the cost of credit
High chances of defaulting on loan repayment
Providing tailored financial literacy and institutional support to the borrowers and their organizations. The borrowers can take loans based on data-driven informed decision, which is the first step to reducing debt
Digital Financial Services can only be used where internet access is available. In India 23% don’t have access to mobile technology are likely to remain in poverty
DART™ is a mobile application that can be downloaded on a device and used in the offline mode where there is no internet facility
Our Focus
Is on women’s social, financial and economic empowerment, and we are primarily working with women-led livelihood groups and federations in India. Women are at a greater risk of increasing indebtedness as a majority of micro-finance borrowers are women. We work towards building their resilience to financial shocks by increasing their awareness of their own financial status, building their credit history, managing their savings, and helping them track their performance.
Their ability to develop and scale entrepreneurship activities are constrained due to poor access to financing options, lack of knowledge, and no or limited access to technology.
At the household level, DART™ focuses on:
- Increasing knowledge of women, supporting them with awareness and training on financial literacy, livelihood selection, business planning and marketing linkages, and help them reduce risks and barriers to access to capital.
- Improving role of women in family’s financial decision making and understanding of family’s financial situation and debt burden.
At an institutional level, DART™ focuses on increasing capacity of women to:’
- Run and manage their organizations effectively
- Manage, administer & monitor their credit & savings
- Build a cadre of women leaders
Our Strength
lies in partnering & collaborating with agencies that bring sustainable changes to underserved households & communities.
We do this by helping our partners strengthen the last mile institutions and build grassroots leadership, which will be there for generations to come. We believe it will ultimately bring down cost of financial services to the poor.
The strength of a household lies in the strength of the communities to which they belong.
By working through trusted partners, we are able to adapt to the real needs of customers and families, whether that’s helping farmers adapt to climate change or finding ways to engage with women and youth.