Poverty alleviation in India remains a huge challenge and opportunity. Recently, a group of young changemakers from TribesforGOOD decided to turn towards social investment (peer-to-peer lending) for the same. Through this, the group helped multiple rural entrepreneurs by encouraging people to make social investments and enabling farmers, artisans and entrepreneurs to get affordable loans.
The Problem
When the pandemic struck, the income stream of many people who relied on a single source of income stopped overnight. This was especially a huge hit on rural entrepreneurs who did not have any source of formal credit they could tap into - given their lack of access to collaterals and credit scores. 86% of India's eligible population does not have access to formal credit or loans. Even without the difficulties brought on by the pandemic, rural entrepreneurs like farmers, shopkeepers and other micro-entrepreneurs struggle to finance their endeavours. They are stuck in the loop of expensive credit (money lenders & micro-finance institutions), resulting in high debt and poverty.
The Solution
Social Investing, especially for women, helps improve their financial well-being by giving them sufficient credit to take control of business growth and, consequently, household expenses and their children's future. At Rang De, we are an organisation that’s a pioneer of social investing - a model where fellow Indians can invest in rural entrepreneurs at interest rates as low as 4-8% - helping them get access to low-cost credit while enabling them to repay with interest.
When TribesforGOOD, a social impact platform which has helped 1750+ individuals contribute meaningfully to social impact and become changemakers got in touch with us, we knew we had to partner with them.
We partnered with TribesforGOOD to execute a special student challenge as a part of their flagship program Global Challenges and Social Justice. RangDe provided the platform where the changemakers can rope in social investors & support families. In the program, the students created awareness about social investing and explained the concept of peer-to-peer lending to dozens of adults in their circles. The changemakers encouraged them to invest between INR 1000-5000 and get a return from 4-8% and collected the amount. They also motivated potential investors to reinvest again when they get their money back.
The Results
The campaign was a great success, with students raising ₹2,38,220 collectively as social investments through Rang De. Through this approach, the challenge concluded with funds raised through social investing on the platform by the adults these students reached out to. This amount was disbursed to women rural entrepreneurs who will use this low-cost credit to expand their business and income. The challenge successfully enabled rural entrepreneurs while introducing social investing to their circles of influence. Covering students from well-known Delhi schools, this was not only an opportunity for the students to create a social impact by enabling social investments but also for Rang De to reach young changemakers.
We would like to acknowledge the work done by these young students –
We thank all the students who participated in this challenge and extend our gratitude to TribesforGOOD for partnering with us and making this social challenge happen.
Rang De is India’s first social peer-to-peer lending platform that enables you to invest in individuals from low-income households, expanding access to low-cost credit for fundamental needs like livelihood and education.
To start your social investing journey, visit rangde.in/invest