It is a family of three generation entrepreneurs, and the credit goes to Mahila SEWA Sahakari Bank Ltd. (SEWA). The bank primarily lends money to women in the unorganised sector, and the Makwana family couldn't be more grateful to them.
Lilavati Chavda, her daughter Bhargavi Makwana and grand daughter Nirali Makwana all run businesses of their own. For Lilavati, who first worked as a cook, the journey was a tough one. "Initially I would do catering work for people. I didn't have funds to start something on my own. But then I heard of SEWA who offers unconditional loans to women," said Lilavati who was granted a loan of Rs 10,000 in 1990s.
"Till date all three of us must have been granted loan of Rs 3 lakh," said Lilavati. Bhargavi who initially helped her mother with saree business said, "The people at SEWA told me that I needed to diversify because what I can earn from only one business was limited. That is when I started selling sarees and later added salwar kameez to the list. I got a loan from SEWA to expand my business." Her daughter Nirali who is a class-12 pass out now runs her own boutique, a venture for which she too got help from SEWA.
Vandana Shah, general manager of the bank said, "Most of them are illiterate and many are so occupied that they won't have the time to turn up at the bank for their work. 95 per cent of the bank's staff work on field," said Shah.
This explains why the bank that has lent Rs 200 crore so far has not had any Non-Performing Asset. "We have payment delays but women always pay up. There is no penalty for late payment nor is there any fine for pre payment too," said Smruti Shah, DGM, finance of the bank.
She said that since they are a bank and rules of RBI apply to them, the number of unsecured loans they can give is limited. "Most of our women seek unsecured loan because they are too poor to mortgage anything. But it has been our experience that they will always pay back," said Shah.