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Photo journal: exploring microfinance in India with Women’s World Banking

November 14, 2013

We have just returned from an incredible ten days traveling throughout the country, meeting the members of the Women’s World Banking network and learning about how microfinance has changed the lives of their clients, as told to us by the women themselves. Women’s World Banking’s partners in India are among the best in the country: Ujjivan, Friends of Women’s World Banking, Ananya and SEWA Bank, so it was an honor to meet the leaders of these institutions and hear about their passion for serving low-income women and the staff that are on the ground ensuring that their mission is fulfilled.

I’m sharing a few of the photos I took on the trip which document but a few moments of this amazing experience. The travelers and I look forward to sharing more photos and reflections on our experiences on the Women’s World Banking blog.

#Lakshmi, goddess of #wealth, is fitting start to #womensworldbnkg trip to #India to meet women #entrepreneurs
Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, is fitting start to trip to India to meet women entrepreneurs

Many thanks to our supporters for joining us in India – first stop, Udaipur, then Mt. Abu, Ahmedabad and Banagalore
Many thanks to our supporters for joining us in India – first stop, Udaipur, then Mt. Abu, Ahmedabad and Banagalore

Warm welcome from Jan Chetna Sansthan, an NGO that helps rural women in India access loans and find their voice
Warm welcome from Jan Chetna Sansthan, an NGO that helps rural women in India access loans and find their voice

India women collective uses group savings and loans to reclaim jewelry and avoid high interest rates from money lenders
India women collective uses group savings and loans to reclaim jewelry and avoid high interest rates from money lenders

SEWA is more than a Women's World Banking network member, it’s a 40-year movement to make women workers visible in India
SEWA is more than a Women’s World Banking network member, it’s a 40-year movement to make women workers visible in India

SEWA honors the women before them who had less rights and economic security - “head laborers” from 1930s photographed here
SEWA honors the women before them who had less rights and economic security – “head laborers” from 1930s photographed here

Like Women's World Banking, SEWA puts a woman at the center of every product and every decision
Like Women’s World Banking, SEWA puts a woman at the center of every product and every decision

Ujjivan has the largest microfinance footprint in India, helping petty shop owners and other entrepreneurs boost their businesses
Ujjivan has the largest microfinance footprint in India, helping petty shop owners and other entrepreneurs boost their businesses

A simple financial education tip: list out your monthly expenses and assign a green, red, and yellow light next to each to note which expense is necessary, unnecessary, and questionable
A simple financial education tip: list out your monthly expenses and assign a green, red, and yellow light next to each to note which expense is necessary, unnecessary, and questionable

Women's World Banking has a strong partner in Ujjivan, which can issue cashless loans to hardworking house workers like these two women
Women’s World Banking has a strong partner in Ujjivan, which can issue cashless loans to hardworking house workers like these two women

Ujivan is the only #MFI in #India with a customer care representative in every branch, across 19 states
Ujjivan is the only MFI in India with a customer care representative in every branch, across 19 states