Rang De, offering a helping hand to needy

RangDe.Org is India's first online micro-lending platform that was started to provide low income households access to affordable microcredit. Through the online portal, Rang De enables individuals to make social investments by lending small sums of money to micro-entrepreneurs from Indian villages and semi urban areas who have been denied access to credit. Rang De social investors, apart from getting a nominal financial return on the money they invest, also get a tangible social return through evaluation reports and updates from the field. A Rang De social investor can invest as little as 500 to help a borrower from any geographical area of their choice.

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Rang De leverages technology and an individual's ability to make a difference to lower the cost of microcredit. Currently, Rang De provides loans for micro-enterprises at 8.5 percent per annum and loans for education at 5 percent per annum.

Rang De Microcredit:
These are loans provided to small enterprises in rural areas. Typically, the loans range in size from 3000 to 10,000 and is usually used as working capital by micro-entrepreneurs. Here's is Kusum's story and what she has done with her loan:

A woman is said to have many facets and Kusum is certainly one of them. The loss of her husband early in life, made this quiet homemaker, a sharp businesswoman. The small cycle shop that she runs, rents out bicycles and also services and repairs other bicycles in the area. A loan from Rang De helped give the shop a face-lift and it now boasts of six new bicycles. Kusum also keeps all the spare parts for bicycles and her shop has become a one-stop shop for everything to do with cycle servicing. She is the happiest when all her cycles are away on hire, as it assures her of a substantial income."Of late, I have handed over a part of the responsibilities of the shop, to my son." says Kusum with a sigh of relief. But she makes sure that her children pursue their education. "I don't want them to face the same problems that I faced." she says with a smile. Just another eight weeks - and she will be free of her loan. For more stories on Kusum and her peers, Check http://rangde.org/home.htm#s/109"

Rang De Education:
Rang De Education was started to provide loans for education needs of low income households. Rang De currently funds the school fees and expenses incurred at the beginning of the academic year by providing education loans. The current pilot is being run in association with an NGO in Hyderabad. For more information on how it works, check http://rangde.org/rangdeEducation.htm"

So far, Rang De has reached out to more than 1400 entrepreneurs across India through a human social network of 460 social investors. The social investors also participate in setting up Rang De chapters, field audits, interactions with the borrowers and also have opportunities to mentor micro-entrepreneurs.

Rang De works with a credible network of non profit organizations called field partners - to help in screening of borrowers and their businesses and currently has 16 field partners across 10 states in India. Rang De is a registered non profit organisation with a vision to make poverty history in India. RangDe.Org is currently funded and supported by CSO Partners - strategic partner of ICICI Foundation.