Savings and Credit Cooperatives

The strategy can involve development of microfinance through promotional activities at two-levels: SHG and cooperative level. Self-Help Groups cab be promoted at the village/ hamlet level consisting of, say, 20 members. The SHGs meet at regular intervals and collect savings from the members and carry out inter-lending among themselves. The Groups will be strengthened through continuous training and capacity building activities. The village-level SHGs function as collection centres and link their members to the cluster-level savings and credit cooperatives. A cluster can be a group of villages and hamlets, say, 4-8 villages making one cluster and one cooperative can be promoted at this level depending upon the geographical extent of the area.

At the cluster level savings and credit cooperatives in the form of a federation of SHGs can be promoted and strengthened. The cooperatives can have a minimum membership of 200 for its viability. Each cluster-level cooperative can have 10-20 SHGs as members. The cooperatives can offer financial services to the members. The cooperatives can mobilize resources from the members in the form of share capital and savings and deposits. They can also access loan funds from the formal financial institutions like banks.