PRAYAS has been working on various development activities
since 1998. Apart from the various non-financial development activities,
PRAYAS since beginning is also active in mobilizing community for savings
and credit services. It has been
forming SHGs and encouraging them for savings and also internally
revolving the savings. Since 2002, the organisation started linking its
SHGs with various Banks. This was started as it was realized that internal
savings were not enough to fulfill the credit needs of the groups.
Internal savings of the groups had also reached the critical mass to
attract bankers to lend to them.
Gradually, PRAYAS realized that linking SHGs to bank
took a long time and as the bankers were still not very sensitized and
comfortable in lending to SHGs, it altogether remained a difficult
process. To counter the situation PRAYAS decided to have its own
microfinance programme wherein it would borrow from the external sources
and on-lend it to SHGs. Hence, it started lending in a small way in 2005
from Dahod but microfinance was taken up as a major activity only from
April 2006. PRAYAS is also continuing with SHG-Bank linkage, although
PRAYAS, as a policy, does not lend to SHG, which have been linked to
Banks. This is just to maintain clarity of operations and avoid any
confusion at the group level.
Vision:
PRAYAS envisions a society where people have better social
and economic opportunities with access to financial services and
awareness of rights and duties”
Mission:
“Unite
socio-economically deprived people, empower through economical and social
interventions to 150,000 households by 2015”
(Contribute to UN MDG )
Objectives:
1.
To
develop Community Based Organisation (CBOs) of mainly women, which will
be the primary forums for majority of interventions of Prayas.
2.
To
establish a sound and professional micro finance programme to provide
access to financial services to those who presently lack it.
3.
To
strengthen CBOs by making them aware of their rights and empowering them
to assert these rights to protect themselves against any form of
exploitation.
