Rang De is a pioneering, non-profit, web-based social initiative with a mission to help under-served communities break away from poverty through economic and social empowerment. Rang De and Women on Wings join hands in seeking areas of cooperation through which Indian rural social enterprises could be supported to enable them in growth in general and in jobs for women specific.
Women; grittiest, enterprising borrowers
Rang De aims to make poverty history in India by reaching out to underserved communities through microcredit that has a positive impact on business, education, health and environment of the communities it works with. Ram N K, founder and CEO at Rang De: “Over 93 per cent of our borrowers are women. One reason for this is the nature of self-help groups at the grassroots, which tend to be comprised entirely of women. Another reason is that in our experience, some of the grittiest, determined and enterprising borrowers that we have met during our visits to the field invariably tend to be women.”
Money in hands of women changes everything
When money flows into the hands of women who have the authority to use it, everything changes. Research shows that when women control additional income, they spend more of it than men do on food, health, clothing and education for their children. This has positive implications for immediate well-being as well as raising the level of human capital and economic growth through improved health, nutrition and education outcomes. It is the way to break the cycle of poverty (World Bank).
Generating income for artisans
Rang De’s work with artisans community ultimately led to the creation of a separate not-for-profit organization called Habba that aspires to be an honest marketplace for artisans promising fair returns. At Habba, Women on Wings’ existing business partners could find a marketplace for their hand made products. And Rang De will look at its network of partners to identify new business partners for Women on Wings. Ultimately, more social businesses and rural artisans will benefit from this partnership.
