sector track women report...

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) came

into being at the United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro,

Brazil in 2012. The SDGs came as a replacement to

the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) which

had guided global efforts towards key

developmental priorities encompassing a wide

range of focus areas like eradication of poverty

and hunger, universal education and

environmental sustainability among others until

2015. While significant progress was achieved

through the MDGs, the results signalled uneven

progress. Developed countries demonstrated a

relatively greater level of achievement of goals

in comparison to under-developed countries

marred with conflict. As a result, the lowest

margins of society were unreached by the goals.

The need for a more holistic approach toward

attainment of goals was required to enable

equal advancement in society with a collaborated

effort across stakeholders; governments,

businesses, investors and societies.

The MDG on promotion of gender equality and

women empowerment (MDG 3) was especially

limited the sole target being: elimination of

gender disparity in primary, secondary and

tertiary education by 2015. The progress of the

goal was tracked by the ratio of boys to girls in

the classroom, the share of women in paid

employment services and the proportion of

female MPs in national parliaments. As per the

Millennium Development Goals Report 2015,

significant progress was made towards these

goals with the ratio of girls enrolled in primary

education in Southern Asia increasing from 74

girls for every 100 boys in 1990, to 103 girls for

every 100 boys by 20151. However, pertinent

issues and targets required to achieve women

empowerment were omitted from MDG 3. Thus,

while MDG 3 had the right objectives in mind, the

measures and targets in place fell short in carving

a pathway to achieving the goal.

In 2015, 193 Member States of the United Nations

had agreed to adopt the SDGs and to end poverty

by 2030. Learning from the hurdles of the MDG 3,

SDG 5, with an objective to achieve gender

equality and empower all women and girls, has

set out clear targets to achieve the broader goal

as demonstrated below:

At Northern Arc, it has been our continuous

endeavour to reduce gender disparity and

economically empower women by supporting

institutions that are invested in the development

and progress of women in society. This is

represented not only in the work we do but also

transpires across the organization through our

values and outlook. Our partners in the sector

track discussion at Prabhav 2018, Asha Impact

and Kois Invest, follow a similar outlook. Asha

Impact, an impact investment platform in India,

ensures an equal balance of men and women at

all levels of the organization with investments in

women-run ventures being a key focus,

constituting 40% of their portfolio. Kois Invest, an

impact finance firm, has been working on

several impact finance products focused on

empowerment of girls and women, ranging from

access to comprehensive menstrual hygiene

management to improvement in livelihood

opportunities of young women through skill

training. The team at Kois Invest comprises of

over 50% of women.

We believe that for SDG 5 to work, the economic

and social empowerment of women is pertinent.

The report will explore SDG 5 and its importance

in the context of the Indian scenario, the progress

achieved so far, innovative products in the market

that address the issues at hand, the role of

different stakeholders and recommendations that

will create an ecosystem that enables easy

adoption of the SDG 5.

SECTOR TRACK REPORT

WOMENEMPOWERMENT








































































over 50% of women.










CONTENTSACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 02

MESSAGE From Mr. T.S. Tirumurti, Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs 03

SECTION 1 Introduction to the SDG on Women Empowerment 04

SECTION 2 The importance of SDG 5 in India

2.a. The Indian economy, gender disparity and a course of action 06

SECTION 3Current Challenges and how SDG 5 will help

3.a. The progress so far in bridging the gap of access to finance, sectors catering to women and the continued challenges being faced 12

3.b. Case studies of innovative products in the market that address the various needs of women in rural India. 17

SECTION 4 SDGs and the Impact Investment Industry, the road ahead 21

SECTION 5Recommendations to ensure the successin achieving the outcomes of SDG 5 22

ANNEXURE 1Stories of Impact from Northern Arc’s Clientele 26

ANNEXURE 2About Northern Arc Capital & Northern Arc Investments 28

ANNEXURE 3About Impact Investors Council 28

THE SDG 5,GENDER EQUALITY ANDWOMEN EMPOWERMENT-THE INDIAN PERSPECTIVEAuthored by:Namitha JanardhanAssociate Vice President,Northern Arc Investments(formerly IFMR Investments)








































































over 50% of women.










T.S. Tirumurti is currently the Secretary (Economic Relations) in the

Ministry of External Affairs. T.S. Tirumurti joined the Indian Foreign

Service in 1985. His previous diplomatic assignments include postings

in Cairo, Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, Representative of

India in Gaza, Washington D.C, Deputy Chief of Mission in Jakarta and

High Commissioner in Malaysia. He has also served as Under

Secretary (Bhutan), Director (Foreign Secretary’s Office), Joint

Secretary (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives) and Joint

Secretary (United Nations Economic and Social) during his stints at

the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi.

02 03

We would like

to thank Mann Deshi,

Asha Impact, Kois Invest

and Northern Arc’s partners

for their valuable

contributions towards

the report.

- Northern Arc








































































over 50% of women.










SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE SDG ONGENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

1 http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/MDG%202015%20rev%20(July%201).pdf 2 http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/economic-empowerment/facts-and-figures#notes

End all formsof discrimination

Eliminate all formsof violenceagainst women

Eliminate allharmful Practices

Recognize and valueunpaid care anddomestic work

Adopt sound policiesfor promotion of gender equality

Ensure women's fullparticipation and equal

opportunities

Universal access tosexual and reproductive

health and rights

Reforms to givewomen equal right to

economic resources

Enhance the useof enabling techology

to promote womenempowermentSDG 5

Gender Equality

Empirical studies in the past have pointed out a strong correlation between economic empowerment of

women and bridging the gap in gender inequality. ‘When more women work, economies grow. An

increase in female labour force participation or a reduction in the gap between women’s and men’s

labour force participation results in faster economic growth’2 (A study conducted by OECD).

04 05


















































3http://www.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2017.pdf

At the World Economic Forum (WEF) this

year, Christine Lagarde of IMF (International

Monetary Fund) pointed out that raising

women’s participation in the workforce to

the level of men can boost the Indian economy

by 27%.

India has among the lowest participation in the

workforce, ranking 120th among 131 countries, a

World Bank report states. The labour force

participation rate for women in 2017 was 28.5%

in comparison to 82% for men (The Global

Gender Gap Report 2017)3.

As per WEFs latest Global Gender Gap Index 2017,

India fell 21 places far behind neighbouring

countries like China. The Gender Gap Index

further points out that 66% of women’s work in

India is unpaid.

When we look at high ranking countries across the

world, what has enabled them to achieve better

gender equality, traditionally measured by a

combination of factors including high labour force

participation, minimal or zero disparity in salary

based on gender and opportunities available for

women, is primarily because of an inclusive

ecosystem that promotes:

1) Education2) Family support & work life balance through relevant policies3) Equal division of work with parental leave that enables both parents to assume equal responsibility

4) The presence of day care centres across ages5) Policies against gender-based violence among others

In developed countries, gender equality is

primarily associated with institutionalizing

certain best practices and policies. However, the

issue surrounding gender equality in India and

other developing countries are more

deep-rooted with a need for a shift in the

mindset of society.

Often referred to as the ‘unwanted daughters’ of

India, mothers from various walks of life have

been shunned time and again for not bringing a

boy child into the world. Fear instilled in young

mothers, coupled with the belief that women

across many pockets in India are inferior to men,

has resulted in many mothers taking drastic

steps.

GENDER GAP IN LABORFORCE PARTICIPATION

India Turkey Mexico Indonesia Costa Rica Colombia Chile Brazil South Korea Italy

OECD 2017

With the role of women often perceived to end at

home not much effort is spent educating girls,

resulting in girls and women being viewed as an

economic burden.

Women face several issues across the spectrum

of society and in every walk of life. These

issues need to be addressed to enable greater

equality.























over 50% of women.










SECTION 2: THE IMPORTANCE OF SDG 5 IN INDIA

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

According to a report by UNICEF, more baby

girls die in India in comparison to boys with

parents less likely to seek treatment for a sick

baby girl than a boy. A preference for sons has

also resulted in a skewed sex ratio with female

foeticide and infanticide rampant across India.

A 2011 study in a British medical journal

(Lancet) showed that over 12 million India girls

were aborted since 1981. Over 2,000 girls are

killed in the womb every day.

2.a. The Indian economy, gender disparity and a course of action

06 07

https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Every_Child_Alive_The_urgent_need_to_end_newborn_deaths.pdf


















































The issues highlighted above have plagued

gender inequality in Indian society for countless

years. However, looking at urban India especially

middle income or high-income groups, we notice

that there has been a progressive shift over the

last decade or more, primarily driven by a change

in thought processes of younger generations.

With the implementation of certain laws and

policies, to create a controlled environment, we

expect far more gender equality in urban India

going forward.

We believe that to address gender inequality in India, with 70% of India’s population living in rural areas, the epicentre of the issue currently lies here and is far more rampant and ingrained. Moreover, the issues of gender inequality are elevated by the extreme levels of poverty witnessed across many sections of India, both urban and rural.

With women being viewed as an economic

burden, we believe that the first step towards

bringing about equality in society is by creating

opportunities and facilities that could help

economically empower women in India through

the provision of finance, education and skills.

This in turn could lead to more balanced

households.

It is essential to equip women with these skills for

them to subsist in society without the support of

male counterparts, which has been an effort

undertaken by Northern Arc Capital/Investments

(formerly IFMR Capital/Investments) over the last

ten years through over 140+ partner institutions.

As eloquently stated by Bill and Melinda Gates

Foundation “We know that women and girls have

a unique power to reshape societies. When you

invest in a woman’s health and empowerment, it

has a ripple effect, helping families, communities,

and countries achieve long-lasting benefits10.”

If we are to look at the financial position of women in rural India prior to the introduction of the SDGs, according to a 2012 report by World Bank, only 26% of women in India had an account with a formal financial institution. Less than 15% of women entrepreneurs had access to finance from formal financial institutions11























over 50% of women.










According to a WDR 2012 report by

World Bank women account for 81%

of household work4.

66% of women's work in India is

unpaid for as per the WEF Gender

Gap Index.

An unequal division of work is often

a common cause of gender

inequality. With often no time to

spend on other activities,

a women’s role is automatically

assumed to end at home.

at Home

While women constitute almost half

the population in India, their

participation in the employment

sector is visibly much lower than

men.

There is a 20% gender pay gap in

most organizations between men

and women which increases with

the number of years of experience

(Monster Salary Index 2016)5.

140 women held 12.4% of board

seats and just 3.2% of board chairs

in 2017 (Deloitte, Women in the

Boardroom: A Global Perspective)6.

An unequal division of work at

home in turn translates to lower

employment rates of women. As

women are perceived to assume

certain roles in life, it has been

observed that in most

organizations inflexible policies has

resulted in over 50% of Indian

women dropping out of

employment between junior and

mid-levels (Catalyst India)7

Employment

As per the Indian Census of India,

2011, 82% of boys were literate in

comparison to 65% of girls8. While

significant progress has been made

through the MDGs in bridging this

gap with a decrease in the gender

gap of boys and girls enrolled in

school there still much more to be

done.

The Annual Status of Education

Report points to unfair division of

resources with 89% of girls required

to do household chores9. Further,

more girls drop out of school as

they reach puberty primarily on

account of social stigmas

associated with sanitary health.

Creating an ecosystem that fosters

education and good health is

essential to enable women to

assume roles beyond their

expected responsibilities.

Education

& Health

Environment Statistics Impact on Women

A survey of 34 developing nations

by the United Nations Food and

Agriculture Organization show that

women own less than 10% of land

in these countries.

If we are to look at India alone, a

study by the National Council of

Economic Research points out that

while women comprise over 42%

of agricultural labour force, they

own less than 2% of farm land.

According to the Economic Survey

2018, women workers were found

to be the most disadvantaged as

they constitute a high percentage

of the low skilled labour force and

hence engage only in unskilled, low

wage jobs.

Ownership of land is essential to

enable women to assert

themselves in society. Creating an

environment where decision

making is not lopsided, is essential

to ensure that women assume an

equal footing as men would in

society.

Skill development, especially in

rural India, will enable women to

use their time and resources much

more productively adding to the

welfare of the economy as well as

enabling a progressive shift

towards formal activities.

Ownership

of Land

Skills

Environment Statistics Impact on Women

4 https://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWDR2012/Resources/7778105-1299699968583/7786210-1315936222006/Complete-Report.pdf5 https://media.monsterindia.com/logos/research_report/MSI_Gender_Ready_Reckoner_March_2017.pdf6 https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Risk/ Women%20in%20the%20boardroom%20a%20global%20perspective%20fifth%20edition.pdf7 https://www.catalyst.org/system/files/india_firststep_final_1.pdf8 http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/data_files/india/Final_PPT_2011_chapter6.pdf9 http://img.asercentre.org/docs/Publications/ASER%20Reports/ASER%202016/aser2016_nationalpressrelease.pdf

10 https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ 11 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/453121468331738740/pdf/WPS6025.pdf

*arrows indicate the relationship between various factors in enabling gender equality

08 09








































































over 50% of women.










Economic Empowerment & Gender Equality

At least 636 mn Indians lack access to toilets, as per latest

census data. Women have to venture far from their homes to

defecate creating physical and mental stress. Open defecation

also leads to malnutrition and disease. Further, health hazards

increase during times of mensuration.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the

pollution level in rural Indian kitchens is 30 times higher than

acceptable levels. With women spending a large part of their

time in kitchens, they remain the most susceptible to the

harmful health hazards with a need.

According to a report by Bloomberg, 240 mn Indians do not

have any access to electricity. This results in many households

using kerosene or diesel which have many health and

environmental hazards

EconomicEmpowerment

SDG 5Indicator

More women educatedbeyond primary andsecondary education

leads to

Reducedfertillity rates

Higher GDP & lowerlevels of poverty

Lower infantmortality rates

Increase in theage of marriage

Higher income &understanding leads tobetter knowledge and

education

BalancedHousehold Income

Self awareness& decision making

capability

Ensure women's fullparticipation andequal opportunities

An illustration of how we envision the correlation between

economic empowerment and equality to look like is provided below:

Interventions

• Skill Development

• Inculcate saving practices

• Education on impact of

women contributing

to household income

• Education towords

respectful relationships

and gender equality

• Better awareness and

understanding of sexual

and reproductive health

While India has made tremendous strides towards

a lot of the issues stated including through

focussed government schemes such as Beti

Bachao Beti Padhao (A government scheme to

generate awareness and improve the efficiency of

welfare services intended for girls), extension of

mandatory maternity leave to 26 weeks for

women employed in public and private sectors

under the labour law, toilet schemes under Swach

Bharat Abhiyan and door step banking among

others, far more capital needs to flow into the

private sector to enable further development.

The SDGs on Gender Equality is a much-needed

step forward, creating a mechanism to enable

empowerment of women in India through clearly

defined goals.

10 11

In addition to traditional finance facilities,rural women face various other obstacles that preventthem from progressing in the economic ladder:


















































While highlighting the issues above it is pertinent

to state that India has progressed significantly

over the last twenty years with many specific

schemes launched to tackle the issue of poverty

as well as enable gender equality.

For example, according to the Global Findex

Report 2017, in 2014 men were 20% more likely

than women to have a bank account. That gap

has now shrunk to 6%.

The government has over the last decade

launched a number of schemes to enable financial

inclusion especially in rural India including Mudra

Yojana (a financial initiative for facilitating MSMEs

with sufficient funds to help them develop their

businesses), Jan Dhan Yojana (A national mission

for financial inclusion to ensure access to financial

services) and Stand Up India (a scheme for the

promotion of entrepreneurship among women

and individuals belonging to lower castes).

Niti Aayog recently launched a women

entrepreneurship platform with initiatives aimed

at building an ecosystem for the development of

women-entrepreneurs. In addition, a real push

towards the enablement of access to finance,

specifically to women in rural India, has been

through the creation of a favourable ecosystem

driven by the presence of microfinance

companies and rural co-operative banks.

Today microfinance institutions have enabled

access to finance to thousands of women across

India. These are women who aspired to set up

their own businesses and break the shackles of

society. They however did not have adequate

support financially to do so owing to minimal

support from the family, lack of adequate

documents to approach a bank and financial

illiteracy.

Over the last decade, microfinance institutions

have enabled more women to contribute to the

economy and their families, helping them adopt

an equal footing in society.

Northern Arc identified and assisted many such

institutions at a time when their access to

finance and capital markets was limited enabling

them to provide assistance to many women like

Shakun.

In addition, these microfinance institutions have

not only provided basic financial requirements,

but also expanded their services to provide Water

and Sanitation Loansas well as, Solar Power/

Energy efficient loans.

According to a report by Microfinance Gateway

with evidence from World Bank Water Global

Practice’s Water and Sanitation Program and

Water.org, USD 120 million in microfinance

lending has resulted in more than 573,000

household water and sanitation loans, reaching

more than 2.4 million people. Based on the

survey, 25% of women stated that they were able

to improve their productivity with access to these

loans, with less time being spent venturing

outdoors and in taking care of sick families.

The survey was based on data collected from

India, Bangladesh, Kenya and the Philippines12

Financial institutions must be far more inclusive

to empower women to take on larger roles:

While microfinance has helped to a large extent in

economically empowering women, to enable

women to benefit much more from the finance

provided and to help them grow especially post

availing their first loan various other factors come

into play. Through our field work, we have

observed that while it is crucial to provide women

with the necessary finance, it is equally essential

to teach them other skills such as the importance

of savings, insurance, pension and capital growth

among others to ensure long term productivity

and self-sustainability. However, in some cases,

financial literacy is limited to educating

customers about the terms of the loan provided.

In a study conducted by IFMR Lead it was found

that even the provision of a lock box with a key

increased savings of women with a less likelihood

of indulging in unplanned expenditures.

Financial empowerment & education also goes

hand in hand with skill development: While some

women have been financially empowered, the

biggest challenge facing most women is the lack

of adequate skills owing to their circumstances,

with girls forced to drop out of school at a young

age. Poor skills and no financial literacy

automatically reduce or eliminates a large

population of women who are unaware of the

facilities offered by institutions and the plethora

of opportunities available to them. It is essential,

that we create an ecosystem where women

realize their aspirations and ambitions in life and

create opportunities to achieve them. The Skill

India initiative launched by the government of

India primarily through the Pradhan Mantri

Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) incentivises skill

training, providing rewards for enrolling in skill

development programmes. Through the skill India

program more than 35 lakh women have been

empowered.

More microfinance institutions need to begin

adopting their own skill development

programmes or partner with institutions that

provide these services with skill development

and financial education complementing the

provision of loans: While there are many

individual organizations that have been

established with a focus on skill development

there is little collaboration between economic

empowerment, financial literacy and skill

development. Further, skill development and

financial education at times needs to be a first

step adopted by institutions to attract many more

women into the financial system.

Some of our partner institutions have set up their

own foundations or subsidiaries to provide skill

development to their borrowers. A notable name

in this cause is Madura Microfinance, who through

their subsidiary Madura Micro Education has

rolled out a number of initiatives including mini

MBA courses. The mini MBA course trains women

entrepreneurs about the fundamentals of

business and marketing, equipping them with the

necessary skills to plan and grow their businesses.























over 50% of women.










SECTION 3: CURRENT CHALLENGES ANDHOW SDG 5 WILL HELP3.a. The progress so far in bridging the gap of access to finance, sectors catering to women

and the continued challenges being faced

In an impact evaluation study conducted by IFMR Lead on inclusive growth through Microfinance

and entrepreneurial training, the results from the study suggest that the implemented Self-Help

Group (SHG) program is a powerful tool in mobilizing rural households to save and acquire loans

from formal sources, thus formalizing financial services for the poor. SHGs act as an important

platform for achieving financial inclusion for rural women belonging to low income households.

Results also indicate that a holistic SHG program comprising not just of group formation and loan

disbursement, but of business and skills training, makes group members more likely to start and

expand businesses. It also helps make them more likely to reinvest their profits, thereby promoting

self-employment and opportunities to diversify their income, and increasing their welfare

Shakun has been a customer of SV Credit Line (SVCL), a partner of Northern

Arc since 2011. After her husband died, she took over the command of her

family. She was 42 years old at the time. Her first loan was invested into her

family snack business. While the business was earlier run at her house, post

acquiring a loan, she bought a cart and started selling chaat (an Indian snack)

in the local market. The business flourished, and she started making profits.

After years of successfully running the business, Shakun now owns three

carts, managed by herself and her two sons.

‘Because I work, I feel self-sufficient and everyone respects me at home. I hope to grow my business much more with the help of SVCL’

12 http://www.findevgateway.org/library/microfinance-water-and-sanitation-how-one-small-loan-makes-difference

12 13http://ifmrlead.org/inclusive-growth-through-microfinance-and-entrepreneurial-training-an-impact-study/

Forty-five year old Vandana Raut was married

off at fourteen to a family of daily wage

labourers who lived in Dahiwadi, Satara

district, Maharashtra. While she was in charge

of managing their home, her husband and

father-in-law worked on farms, earning a paltry

income. After the birth of her two children and

an illness in the family, finances became even

more strained. Unsure of what to do since she

was only a sixth standard dropout, Vandana

was extremely worried. Moreover, as living

expenses continued to mount, she began to

face a lot of pressure to take her older

daughter out of school.

At this time, Vandana came across Mann Deshi

Foundation and enrolled in the financial

literacy course run by the Foundation’s

Business School for Rural Women. She had no

money, no savings and no bank account of her

own. What she did have however was a

determination to set up a business that would

provide enough income to ensure that her

daughter could continue in school. The training

impressed upon her the need to start saving so

she could build a financial foundation for her

business and apply for a loan. She opened a

Mann Deshi bank account and began savings

Rs. 50 a day through the bank’s doorstep

service.

A little later, she took a Mann Deshi Bank loan

to start a vada pao business. As she only had a

handcart from which she sold food items, she

didn’t make as much as she expected. She

turned to the Foundation for a more advanced

financial literacy course. This time, she learned

about business and time management. Her

business improved, and her husband joined

her. Whenever she needed financial support or

guidance on how to expand her business, save

her money or invest in improvements, she

would turn to Mann Deshi.

Her business grew and as her income

increased, she was able to ensure that her

children continued in school without any

opposition. She opened a fixed deposit

account and then used that money, and the

interest it earned, to continue to expand her

business.

Today, she is the proud owner of a 2000

square foot plot that she has mortgaged so

that she could build, set up and run a

permanent vada pav stall. She has taken half a

dozen loans and grown her savings to Rs. 400

a day. She has an LIC policy, something she

understood as extremely important as a result

of her financial literacy trainings.

Her older daughter is well educated and

married while the others continue to study. She

says that the Mann Deshi business and

financial training and support she received

ensured that her family is now stable and

happy.

41 year old Selvarani, a client of Madura Microfinance (a partner of Northern Arc)

learnt tailoring when she was just 20 years old and has been in the tailoring

business for the last 10 years. Her business however was not very profitable with

significant competition. She decided to expand her business and with Rs. 15,000

that she had saved over these years, she ventured into the sale of sarees, dress

materials and other ready-made garments for women. She didn’t want to ask her

husband to purchase more garments as it was her individual endeavor to

succeed as an entrepreneur. She wanted her financial freedom to make business

decisions. The biggest challenge she faced was that only people who know her

personally and her customers were aware of her business. Her goal was to reach

out to and attract many new customers.

Selvarani attended a course on Micro Business Education from Madura Micro

Education which includes topics of entrepreneurship and consumer literacy.

After taking the course, she installed a signage for her store which gave her great

visibility and made her shop easily identifiable. She also started giving out carry

bags with the name of her business and phone number printed on it. Through

business education, Selvarani gained more knowledge on understanding

customers’ needs as per the season and occasion, how to better interact with

customers and pricing her products appropriately.

Selvarani’s profits increased substantially post the course and her tailoring

business also grew. Madura, truly empowered Selvarani to run a successful

business by providing her with all the resources required to help her grow.

Mann Deshi Foundation is another noteworthy

name. Chetna Gala Sinha, the founder of Mann

Deshi has been an advocate for women

empowerment. Chetna Sinha’s story started in the

mid 1990’s in the drought prone village of

Mhaswad in the state of Maharashtra India. In

1996, Kantabai, a welder who lived on the street,

wanted to buy a tarpaulin sheet to protect her

family from the rains. She needed a safe space to

keep her daily savings out of the reach of her

alcoholic husband. She went from bank to bank

trying to open an account. No bank would accept

her as a customer. This was when Chetna decided

to start a co-operative bank for women like

Kantabai.

Mann Deshi through their foundation and bank

have reached out to over 400,000 women

through 16 Business Schools with courses covering

financial literacy, computer literacy, banking,

personality development, tailoring, beauty

services, and more. Through participation, Mann

Deshi helped the average annual income of

business school trainees to increase by 25% with

40% of participants starting to regularly save. They

also started a business school on wheels which

plies through rural areas to reach out to borrowers.

14 15

In spite all efforts taken so far, the gap in male

and female labour force participation continues

to hover at over 50%.

Various efforts can be taken to enable financial

empowerment through financial literacy and

skill development to bring in more women into

the financial system. However, this will be

incomplete unless combined with efforts

focussed on changing the mindset of

households on the role of women: The role of

men and women, especially in Indian society, is

in many cases already pre-defined. To witness

more empowerment in India, these roles need

to merge. At an urban level, if we are to look at

the corporate sector this requires many more

policies implemented towards maintaining a

certain ratio of women employees to male

employees creating an incentive for companies

to ensure hiring is aligned with this. In addition,

flexible working hours and day care centres

incorporated into work are much needed. At an

educational level, this requires incorporation of

curriculums specifically on equality in schools.

Most learning is imbedded in children at a

young age with what they observe around

them shaping their outlook. Removing

gender stereotypes is key to creating a more

balanced society. At a rural level, in addition to

education far more awareness needs to be

created across various levels starting from the

governing bodies. More representation by

women on these committees is a first step

towards bringing many more women into the

work force, creating policies that help in

empowering them.

There is a necessity to develop innovative

products at the ground level, as well as fund

structures that will enable further flow of capital

into these areas for creating avenues to finance

that enables women to progress in society.

Shobha Raut developed polio when she was just ten months old. A serial

entrepreneur, she has never let her handicap inhibit her ambitions. Her

first micro finance loan of INR 15,000 helped her start her own stationary

and clothing business. As her business and profits grew, so did her

confidence to take on larger loans.

She now plans to build additional space in her shop, buy new furniture

and expand her offerings with an ultimate dream of buying a home.

Recently completing a 100 km walk to a temple to prove her

determination, there is no doubt that this inspiring young woman can accomplish whatever she

sets out to do.

Shobha is just one of millions of women micro-entrepreneurs. They have repaid numerous cycles

of micro-finance loans, built their capital and businesses and are now ready and keen to take their

enterprise to the next level.

Forty-five year old Vandana Raut was married

off at fourteen to a family of daily wage

labourers who lived in Dahiwadi, Satara

district, Maharashtra. While she was in charge

of managing their home, her husband and

father-in-law worked on farms, earning a paltry

income. After the birth of her two children and

an illness in the family, finances became even

more strained. Unsure of what to do since she

was only a sixth standard dropout, Vandana

was extremely worried. Moreover, as living

expenses continued to mount, she began to

face a lot of pressure to take her older

daughter out of school.

At this time, Vandana came across Mann Deshi

Foundation and enrolled in the financial

literacy course run by the Foundation’s

Business School for Rural Women. She had no

money, no savings and no bank account of her

own. What she did have however was a

determination to set up a business that would

provide enough income to ensure that her

daughter could continue in school. The training

impressed upon her the need to start saving so

she could build a financial foundation for her

business and apply for a loan. She opened a

Mann Deshi bank account and began savings

Rs. 50 a day through the bank’s doorstep

service.

A little later, she took a Mann Deshi Bank loan

to start a vada pao business. As she only had a

handcart from which she sold food items, she

didn’t make as much as she expected. She

turned to the Foundation for a more advanced

financial literacy course. This time, she learned

about business and time management. Her

business improved, and her husband joined

her. Whenever she needed financial support or

guidance on how to expand her business, save

her money or invest in improvements, she

would turn to Mann Deshi.

Her business grew and as her income

increased, she was able to ensure that her

children continued in school without any

opposition. She opened a fixed deposit

account and then used that money, and the

interest it earned, to continue to expand her

business.

Today, she is the proud owner of a 2000

square foot plot that she has mortgaged so

that she could build, set up and run a

permanent vada pav stall. She has taken half a

dozen loans and grown her savings to Rs. 400

a day. She has an LIC policy, something she

understood as extremely important as a result

of her financial literacy trainings.

Her older daughter is well educated and

married while the others continue to study. She

says that the Mann Deshi business and

financial training and support she received

ensured that her family is now stable and

happy.

This section explores innovative products in the

market that cater to various aspects highlighted in

earlier sections that hinder women’s footing in

society.

A fund focussed on empowering micro-

entrepreneurs in rural India: Northern Arc

Investments in partnership with Mann Deshi is

launching India’s first Alternative Investment Fund

focussed on women micro- entrepreneurship with

an underlying theme of women empowerment.

Both Northern Arc and Mann Deshi have been

working towards the financial inclusion and

empowerment of women across India. The

partnership will help leverage on the expertise of

both groups, reaching out to a much larger set of

women micro-entrepreneurs who are looking to

grow their businesses.

Northern Arc Investments (formerly IFMR

Investments) is a specialized asset manager

investing in the impact space in India across six

sectors - microfinance, small business finance,

vehicle finance, agriculture finance, affordable

housing finance and corporate finance. NAI

currently manages six debt Alternative

Investment Funds with USD 150+mn of AUM and

40+ unique investors. Mann Deshi’s activities

highlighted under section 3.a. has helped

empower women across the state of Maharashtra.

Both Northern Arc and Mann Deshi stand out for

their continued efforts towards fostering an

environment that helps empower women.

Northern Arc’s access across India through

partner institutions and Mann Deshi’s expertise

through their cooperative bank and foundation

will lead to wider outreach to women in need of

finances and skills that are required to take on

roles as entrepreneurs.

The fund has been launched to address a specific

need that exists, where women face a significant

capital crunch while growing their businesses.

While many women can avail microfinance loans

through a Joint Liability Group (JLG) model, the

maximum cap on these loans is at INR 80,000.

Moreover, traditionally most microfinance

institutions do not exceed loan amount of INR

40,000 – INR 50,000 and this is post multiple

cycles of lending. In addition, when we look at

small business finance companies, funding is

largely skewed with majority of the funding

provided to men. This again stems from the root

cause of gender disparity with most businesses

being in the name of men throwing up the issue of

inequal ownership as highlighted earlier in this

report.

Most microfinance borrowers borrow to start a

range of businesses including dairy, tailoring

shops, kirana stores, saree shops, beauty parlours

and much more. Post the initial set up, they have

limited access to finance to meet their working

capital needs.

3.b. Case studies of innovative products in the market that address the various needs

of women in rural India.

An example of one such woman’s story is illustrated below

To enable the goals of SGD 5 to be met and for economic empowerment, in addition to finance, investments must focus

on other factors as well. Each of these factors are inter-linked and complement each other. A few examples of

what we need to see more to enable economic empowerment and gender equality is captured above

SD

G 5

In

ve

stm

en

t F

ocu

s

EconomicEmpowerment

SkillDevelopment

SkillDevelopment

FinancialEducation

Education onGender Equality

Participation bywomen

Technology Health

Incorporatingcompulsoryskilldevelopmenttraining asa part ofmicrofinanceloans

FinancialLiteracy beyondthe termsof the loans- inculcatingsaving habits

GenderEqualityas part ofschoolcurriculum

Cornpanies tomaintain a ratioof men towomen withflexible policies

Enablingaccess tomobile servicesto createfurther accessto finance

Building thenecessaryinfrastructurewith adequatesanitation &water facilities

Collaboration ofgovernment skilldevelopmentprogrammeswith financialinstitutions inrural India

Moreorganizationsto set up , skilland employwomen fromrural areas

Inculcatingfinancialknowledgethrough playsand songs foreasy understandingin rural India

Policies andeducationthroughwomen oncouncils/bodies

In governmentbodies ofpanchayats invillages canhelp representmore womenin rural India

To equip morerural householdwith technologyenabling womento accesseducation &finance at theirdoorstep

Much moreimportanceneeds to beprovided tomenstrual andreproducivehealth withMoblie medicalunits acrossvillages

Through the provisionof finance and jobs

16 17

The fund has been designed to cater to women

like Shobha by promoting larger ticket size

lending and increasing the share of financing to

women in a male dominated world. The fund

intends to achieve this aim by offering subsidized

funding for on-lending to women entrepreneurs

above a certain ticket size. The fund will also help

balance out ownership issues with businesses

required to be in the name of women to access

finance.

The fund also intends to provide women micro

entrepreneurs with an ecosystem that will enable

them to thrive by promoting Water & Sanitation

and Solar power loans, key requirements to

enable healthy functioning of women

entrepreneurs.

This is only one such example in the market which

has been designed to create an enabler that

redefines the role of a women, creating a platform

that promotes lending to women, providing her

with the able resources required to carve her

identity in society.

A few other examples of companies who through

innovative design and ideas, are addressing some

of the key issues being faced by women across

health, education, skill development, financial

planning and technology include:

Financial Planning: Kaleidofin, was started to

address a pertinent need that existed in the

market. While money was flowing into the sector,

there was little financial planning that enabled

households to grow their finances. Kaleidofin

moved beyond the concept of ‘one size fits all’

developing tailored financial solutions using

intelligent algorithms to suit customers’ unique

goals, such as education of their children,

extension of their home and pension for the times

they will no longer be able to work. Financial

planning creates an opportunity for smoothening

of income reducing the economic burden on

households to meet specific expenses.

Health & Education: Menstruation is a key

component of a woman’s life. Yet it remains a

taboo in many cultures, including in India, where

the issue has been consistently overlooked,

underestimated, and underfunded. A recent

survey by the National Family Health Survey

(NFHS) indicates that as many as 62% of women

in the age group of 15 to 24 years still use cloth

during mensuration. With sample data from

2015-16, the figures are much higher in the North

with 82% of women in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh at

81% depending on cloth, leading to reproductive

and urinary tract infection. This has a critical

impact on productive hours of women as well as

reduces self-worth as health issues begin to rise.

A report by Dasra states that 23% of

drop-outs from school are on account

of attaining puberty, with 70% of girls never

hearing of mensuration before their first

period14.

Girls feel less confident because of the lack of

sanitary facilities at schools and due to the

unavailability of better sanitary products. This

contributes to decline in school attendance and

eventually, negatively impacts their performance

at school.

KOIS Invest initiated a feasibility study for the

creation of a Development Impact Bond in

technical partnership with the Water Supply and

Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), a UN

entity that is a global advocate for adequate and

equitable sanitation and hygiene for all, as well as

paying special attention to the needs of women

and girls including Menstrual Hygiene

Management (MHM). The objective is to empower

adolescent girls by implementing a holistic MHM

programme, comprised of three interventions:

raising awareness, access to affordable sanitary

products and building MHM-friendly sanitary

infrastructure. The programme would be financed

through a Development Impact Bond which

remunerates investors based on the social

outcomes achieved. Through this initiative Kois

expects to reach out to over 200,000 girls

increasing their dignity, self-esteem and

confidence.

In addition, Institutions like Aakar innovations,

have innovated in the mensural hygiene space by

manufacturing low cost sanitary napkins,

developing training programs to teach rural

women about mensural hygiene through

interactive games, plays and videos. These are

only some of the kind of initiatives that are

required to prevent girls from dropping out of

school. A group of IIT Students designed a set of

games including a jig-saw puzzle, roulette and

memory game focussed on mensural hygiene.

Through project Titli these students have

educated over 1,500 women and girls.

Another company helping empower women

through its products is Greenway Appliances.

Each year, 4.3 million die from inhaling indoor air

pollution, adding up to more deaths than malaria,

tuberculosis and AIDS combined. Most poor

households that rely on inefficient cookstoves and

traditional sources of energy, also end up spending

a significant proportion of their income on fuel.

Their first product, the Greenway Smart Stove,

forms a modern replacement for traditional mud

stoves, saving 65% fuel and emitting 70% less

smoke, thus enabling healthier, happier kitchens.

The efficient, affordable cook stoves provide a

healthier, more convenient cooking experience for

families lacking access to modern cooking fuels

and replace traditional mud stoves that emit toxic

smoke. It also helps reduce the time women spend

on collecting firewood, thus enabling them to

spend more time with family or start their own

businesses.

Education: A school in Lucknow fits education into

the lives of young girls by operating at a convenient

time. The curriculum incorporates the importance of

gender equality in innovative and fun ways through

combining information with various techniques of

theatre. It is important that, to enable girls to

embrace education and hygiene, it is essential to

launch programmes or design curriculums that

embrace these girls’ circumstances.

Skill Development: The government has launched

several schemes including Modular Employable

Skills (MES) under Skill Development Initiative

(SDI), a scheme for training school dropouts in the

unorganized sector with employable skills;

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act – NREGA providing guaranteed

wage employment for unskilled manual labour

among many others as highlighted earlier. In the

private sector, institutions like SEWA, Mann Deshi,

Tara Livelihood academy have for many years

been resolute in their efforts towards skill

development. However as mentioned earlier, we

need to see much more co-ordination between

government organizations, private agencies,

financial institutions and companies that provide

employment for skill development programs to be

truly beneficial.

Technology: Neurosynaptic communications

through a cloud-based service ‘ReMedi Remote

Healthcare Delivery Solutions’ facilitates remote

diagnosis of patients by capturing various

physiological parameters. The technology enables

health technicians with little education to act as

proxy doctors with operations across 2,200

villages across India reaching out to over 50 mn

people. With no hospitals across many villages in

India and childbirths in unsanitary conditions

ideas such as these can reduce maternal deaths in

rural India.

To enable true empowerment, projects and ideas

such as these require much more support from

Impact Investors across the world enabling

impact creation across every nook and corner of

rural India.

18 19

As Chetna Gala Sinha states ‘the innovation lies not only in creating products, but the innovation also lies in investors taking a larger view of what social returns are. Sometimes this might involve some philanthropy as well. The point is to truly create the opportunity they provide to create real, deep change in the lives of millions. That would be truly win-win. Because what does winning really mean? It’s when everyone benefits. This is a process that takes time, and one where the women business owner is an active participant rather than a passive receiver, and the investor also makes money. the financial product and its bottom line -- investment return – should be only one part of a far bigger social goal.’

While innovative products like some of those stated

above are essential towards curbing gender

inequality, there is generally insufficient capital

available in the market to enable these projects to

get off the ground or to ensure sustainability.

Thus, while there has been capital flowing into the

sector with an underlying objective of impact, this

has not been the focus so far resulting in scattered

funding. The SDGs have through specific goals,

enabled enterprises to understand and better focus

on the goals that are to be achieved to increase

capital flow into their businesses. At the same time,

this has also enabled investors to develop clearly

identifiable metrics to form a part of their

investments.

While impact investments have been a common

phenomenon, the SDGs have also enabled the entry

of non-impact investors into the market in addition

to traditional players.

Today we see many investors launching specific

focussed strategies on SDGs. Partners Group

recently launched PG Life an investment strategy

focussed on UN’s SDGs with a dual mandate of

achieving risk adjusted financial returns and

measurable positive social and environmental

impact separate from their impact arm. Partners

Group was only one among 18 signatories in

Netherlands who together carved out a strategy for

SDG investing primarily through joint understanding

of SDG investing and outlining a clear roadmap for

collaboration and coordination among stakeholders

on achieving these SDGs.

With over 2.8 trillion euros of assets under

management across these 18 signatories in

Netherlands alone, the potential that one country

could achieve through the focussed SDG investing

is enormous and that is just one indicator of the

tremendous pool of capital available to solve key

issues and create impact.

In addition, the SDG on Gender Equality enables

Gender Lens investing to take much more

prominence. When we look at Gender Lens

investing, like the SDGs, the focus primarily is on

investing in products and services for women,

gender equality in the work place and investing in

areas that run or co-run by women and preventing

or providinge solutions to exploitation of women.

With several common metrics the SDG 5 should be

looked at in conjunction with gender lens investing.

Total assets in gender lens investing strategies

invested in public market securities had risen 41%

to $910 million in the 12 months ending June 30th

2017, just a little after SDG 5 came into existence15.

The SDGs, with specific impact metrics that allow an

investor to look at an investment holistically

enabling a financial return as well as a ensuring a

social impact specifically towards women, create

further avenues towards the promotion of gender

lens investing in India.

However, while devising strategies for impact

investments through SDGs, investors also need to

contemplate the right mixture of impact and returns

and how this would transcend to the ultimate

beneficiaries.

Going forward, we see many more impact as well

as corporate investors devising strategies on

specific SDGs that they would like to focus on, as

well as businesses adopting the key metrics of the

SDGs with a clear segmentation of investors and

investees based on the SDGs.

school. A group of IIT Students designed a set of

games including a jig-saw puzzle, roulette and

memory game focussed on mensural hygiene.

Through project Titli these students have

educated over 1,500 women and girls.

Another company helping empower women

through its products is Greenway Appliances.

Each year, 4.3 million die from inhaling indoor air

pollution, adding up to more deaths than malaria,

tuberculosis and AIDS combined. Most poor

households that rely on inefficient cookstoves and

traditional sources of energy, also end up spending

a significant proportion of their income on fuel.

Their first product, the Greenway Smart Stove,

forms a modern replacement for traditional mud

stoves, saving 65% fuel and emitting 70% less

smoke, thus enabling healthier, happier kitchens.

The efficient, affordable cook stoves provide a

healthier, more convenient cooking experience for

families lacking access to modern cooking fuels

and replace traditional mud stoves that emit toxic

smoke. It also helps reduce the time women spend

on collecting firewood, thus enabling them to

spend more time with family or start their own

businesses.

Education: A school in Lucknow fits education into

the lives of young girls by operating at a convenient

time. The curriculum incorporates the importance of

gender equality in innovative and fun ways through

combining information with various techniques of

theatre. It is important that, to enable girls to

embrace education and hygiene, it is essential to

launch programmes or design curriculums that

embrace these girls’ circumstances.

Skill Development: The government has launched

several schemes including Modular Employable

Skills (MES) under Skill Development Initiative

(SDI), a scheme for training school dropouts in the

unorganized sector with employable skills;

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act – NREGA providing guaranteed

wage employment for unskilled manual labour

among many others as highlighted earlier. In the

private sector, institutions like SEWA, Mann Deshi,

Tara Livelihood academy have for many years

been resolute in their efforts towards skill

development. However as mentioned earlier, we

need to see much more co-ordination between

government organizations, private agencies,

financial institutions and companies that provide

employment for skill development programs to be

truly beneficial.

Technology: Neurosynaptic communications

through a cloud-based service ‘ReMedi Remote

Healthcare Delivery Solutions’ facilitates remote

diagnosis of patients by capturing various

physiological parameters. The technology enables

health technicians with little education to act as

proxy doctors with operations across 2,200

villages across India reaching out to over 50 mn

people. With no hospitals across many villages in

India and childbirths in unsanitary conditions

ideas such as these can reduce maternal deaths in

rural India.

To enable true empowerment, projects and ideas

such as these require much more support from

Impact Investors across the world enabling

impact creation across every nook and corner of

rural India.

14https://www.dasra.org/sites/default/files/Dignity%20For%20Her%20-%20Part-I.pdf

SECTION 4: SDGS AND THE IMPACT INVESTMENTINDUSTRY, THE ROAD AHEAD

15 https://missioninvestors.org/sites/default/files/resources/Gender%20Lens%20Impact%20Investing%20Factsheet.pdf

20 21

of these laws still make assumptions of women’s

role in society. If we are to take gender equality

seriously, the government needs to ensure that all

laws are equal in its terms for men and women

and do not favour either party.

d) Policies for participation of women across the

board with specific policies for representation of

women in the corporate sector across various

levels and more reservations towards education

of women among others.

While we see several initiatives around us, to

ensure the effectiveness of the SDGs, businesses

must understand and align their work with the

needs of women, designing suitable products.

Thus, while developing products to help meet

SDGs, businesses must:

a) Map out targets under each SDG to focus on

b) Understand the challenges that face women

and devise a product that not only meets their

primary need but also helps overcome other

barriers that they face. For e.g. Providing the

option of mobile banking to women who cannot

venture to a bank can increase account usage

c) Besides designing innovative products, it is

also integral to understand the psyche of women

and the product at hand. For e.g. Educating

women about mensuration and sanitation might

be invited (in rural areas) only if these women are

approache by other women. Studies in the past

have indicated that female loan officers in

financial institutions can attract more women to

take a loan and start a business.

d) More businesses must take an active role

towards enabling women to enter the workforce

through company policies and innovative

strategies.

To enable the efficient adoption of SDG 5 there must be effective co-ordination across different

stakeholders with each party playing a role towards the achievement of SDG5. It is only through a

mutual understanding, agreement and a co-ordinated effort across stakeholders can we achieve the

outcomes of SDG 5.

SECTION 5: RECOMMENDATIONS TO ENSURETHE SUCCESS IN ACHIEVING THE OUTCOMES OF SDG 5

22 23

Investors Government

Beneficiaries InnovativeProducts

The Indian government has been committed

towards achieving national development goals,

having launched many schemes as well as

separate bodies such as Niti Aayog to achieve

these developmental goals. These goals have

been devised in line with the SDGs, with some

coming into existence even before the SDGs were

formally announced. While each of these

schemes have created significant impact and the

gender equality gap has narrowed over the years,

for schemes like these to reach every woman in

need:

a) There is a need for more co-ordinated efforts

between government and private organizations.

There are numerous organizations working

towards the empowerment of women. Mutually

mapped goals and targets with effective tracking

will prove beneficial to both parties with much

larger outreach as well as faster achievement of

goals.

b) The institution of bodies that consist of a mix

of representation of public and private bodies

that can highlight pertinent issues on the ground

based on experience can help better map goals

and means to achieve the same factoring in these

obstacles.

c) Removal of discriminatory laws against women

or amending laws that create gender equality.

While there are a lot of laws that have come into

place benefitting women, the wordings of many

The Government

Businesses & Innovative Products

24 25

Investors

a) Investors need to devise focussed strategies

for the SDGs with key goals to be achieved clearly

defined. This is a first step towards ensuring

alignment of objectives.

b) Far more focus is required on working with

businesses towards developing structures or

products that help meet these SDGs.

c) Investors will have to combine the nuances of

the SDG 5 targets together with gender lens

investing to ensure that empowerment is not only

limited to he underlying beneficiaries but

percolates through entire ecosystem. For

example, ensuring a healthy ratio of women GPs

in the fund or evaluating women led enterprises.

Vikram Gandhi, the founder of Asha Impact and

Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School,

recently wrote a case study at HBS on the ‘SHE

Index’ of State Street, which selects stocks

weighted on both financial parameters and

gender diversity in executive and board positions

d) Investors strategies must account for each

aspect of the SDG 5 for investments to be truly

effective. While for a business this might be

difficult to achieve, sometimes it may lie with an

investor to structure his/her investments to focus

on each these elements regionally which will

eventually lead to far more collaboration and

achievement of goals.

Beneficiaries

While the government and businesses can work

towards devising innovative strategies to

achieving the SDGs this should be coupled with a

guided effort towards educating women about

their rights and role in society. Only this will

ultimately bring more and more women into the

system empowering them to take on challenges

and make their own decisions.

Husainee moved to Bareilly town after getting

married. Her husband used to work in farms and

could hardly make enough money to take care

of his family. Besides household work, Husainee

used to work as a labour and earn Rs.100 per

day which was not enough to raise her family.

She was worried about education of her

children. Husainee was skilled in sewing and

embroidery, however she was unable to take it

up as a livelihood due to paucity of funds for

the machine and other material. She availed the

first micro finance facility from SVCL in June

2010. She invested the whole money in their

embroidery business. The credit facility made a

significant change in her life. She started

scaling-up her embroidery business and soon

her creativity, dedication and talent brought her

recognition and the business flourished. In a

span of 4 years, her profit has increased over

75%. Her livelihood improved, and her children

started going to school.

‘I wouldn’t be who I am today without this

assistance. The loan enabled us to purchase

equipment and grow. It has made a big

difference to our lives’.Mariyam Beevi sought her first loan from SMILE

Microfinance in 2011. Utilizing this loan she started

a flower business.

The loan has benefitted me to a great extent.

I earn profits, pay regularly and I take care of my

children’s educational needs and can provide

them with healthy food. I hope many more

women are benefited by these loans.

Mrs. Kanagavijaya a client of SMILE Microfinance

(a Northern Arc partner) since 2008 runs a

successful petty shop. Step by step with support

from SMILE she grew her business. Today, her

shop in addition to selling regular food items also

houses a xerox machine and a public telephone

for customers. She recently purchased a fridge

where she stores milk, ice cream, juices,

beverages and dairy products.

“My confidence has grown so much, even though

there is no support from the family members and

relatives. I can see myself standing on my own

two feet. I am waiting to avail a bigger loan from

SMILE and will accomplish much more in life.”

Syed Ali Fatima along with a few other women

in her village started a mat weaving business

8 years ago. Initially, she availed a loan of

Rs. 10,000 from Madura Microfinance and utilized

it to purchase more raw materials for the

business and to display her products. She then

expanded her business and service more

customers. Today, she has a range of mats, bags

and other products that are pre-made

and displayed in her store. She also takes orders

to weave wedding mats and other gifts

on demand.

ANNEXURE 1: STORIES OF IMPACT FROMNORTHERN ARC’S CLIENTELE

26 27

Impact Investors Council (IIC) is the national

industry association of all Social Impact

Investors in India. Impact Investors are financial

investors who invest in social enterprises to

deliver social (and environmental) impact to the

underserved beneficiaries in sectors such as

Agriculture, Financial Inclusion, Affordable

Education, housing & Healthcare, Water &

Sanitation, Clean Energy Access, Livelihoods,

etc. Impact Investors use the power of both

financial markets and social entrepreneurship to

deliver such impact. Impact investing shows us

that it’s possible to build companies that

provide both social and financial returns. IIC and

it's members like Aavishkaar, DFID, Michael and

Susan Dell Foundation, Omidyar Network,

Elevar Equity, Lok Capital, Caspian among

others have been investing in social enterprises

like Asirvad Microfinance Pvt Ltd, Drishti,

Hoppocampus Learning Center, Janalakshmi,

Labournet, Ujjivan and Vistaar Finance

ANNEXURE 3: ABOUT IMPACTINVESTORS COUNCIL

Northern Arc Capital (Formerly IFMR Capital)

was established in 2008 with an objective to

enable access to finance to several high-quality

institutions who were empowering

under-served households across India through

the provision of loans to start businesses.

Northern Arc Capital identified and financed

many of these institutions who in turn have

reached out to millions across the length and

breadth of the country. Today, Northern Arc

Capital works across six sectors including

microfinance, small business finance, vehicle

finance, agricultural finance, affordable housing

finance and corporate finance having enabled

over USD 8 bn (INR 55,000 Crs) of finance to

these sectors across 140+ institutions and 110+

investors with a skin in the game approach

followed across all our transactions.

Northern Arc Investments, a specialized asset

manager investing in the impact space in India,

was started in 2015 to address a gap that

existed in the market in catering to the

long-term funding requirements of institutions

as well as to bring in more investors into the

sector through the creation of a platform that

enabled diversified impact through a single

investment. Northern Arc Investments has since

launched 7 Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs)

with over USD 175 mn (INR 1,100 Crs) of assets

under management. Northern Arc Investments

derives strength from the vintage and track

record of its parent company Northern Arc

Capital.

Northern Arc as a group has continuously

stood for the empowerment of women,

reflected not only in the work that we do

but also transpires throughout our

organization through the values of our

company and outlook.

ANNEXURE 2: ABOUT NORTHERN ARC CAPITAL& NORTHERN ARC INVESTMENTS

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over 50% of women.










Register at prabhav2018-iiic.com

Contact USAman Kalsi Associate 9810821117 [email protected]

Sugandhi Luthra Manager 8588830840 [email protected]

Neha Bhatnagar Head 9716066067 [email protected] (PARTNERSHIPS)

Ranjna Khanna Director 9899181810 [email protected]

Arvind Mathur Non Ex Director 9818934615 [email protected]

Chennai10th Floor, IIT M Research Park,1, Kanagam Village, Taramani,Chennai 600 113, IndiaTel: +91 44 66687000

Gurugram803, 8th Floor, JMD Megapolis,Sector – 47, Sohna Road,Gurugram – 122 002, IndiaTel: +91 124 4587830

MumbaiThe Capital, 902 – B WingPlot No C- 70, Bandra Kurla ComplexBandra (East), Mumbai – 400051, IndiaTel: +91 022 6668 7500

Bangalore15, “KMJ Arcadia”, Industrial Main Road,5th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore 560 095, IndiaTel: +91 80 46472300

@northernarccapital

@_NorthernArc

Northern Arc Capital