Samasta Microfinance Ltd

Supporting rural loan groups in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

India

Since 2008, the microfinance institution (MFI) Samasta Microfinance Ltd (Samasta) has been giving loans to five-member groups of women in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to help them increase their family incomes and create job opportunities. In 2014, it ran a network of 28 branches. Samasta also offers various rural loans for cattle, dairy and crop cultivation purposes.

The areas in which Samasta operates are among the poorest in India and plagued by unemployment and lack of access to finance.

Oikocredit has partnered with Samasta as the MFI puts a lot of effort into protecting its clients, for example by informing them about pricing, by offering compulsory training, and by actively ensuring that their loans are manageable. It shares information with credit bureaus in order to prevent multiple lending.

To maximize its social impact, Samasta also offers non-financial services such as financial literacy training. A part of the profits is allocated to social initiatives, such as free eye-examinations and vocational courses. There is also a charity programme, run via a separate foundation, to support the most disadvantaged.

Samasta has been an Oikocredit partner since 2010.