Increasingly, SEWA bank’s close field level interaction with women worker clients has shown a need for increased information dissemination and financial planning among its clients. For example, although a client may have a general knowledge of SEWA Bank’s various services and products, it is very rare that she is exposed to the various mechanisms that she may employ in a coordinated way – to help her out of the vicious circle of poverty that she is currently trapped in.

Similarly, SEWA Bank clients may already be participating in a variety of savings schemes – without a financial plan or end result in their mind – often resulting in wrong decisions being taken at the wrong time. Since one of the SEWA Bank’s key priorities is empowering women and information is a crucial aspect of this empowerment, developing a financial counseling product to provide information is a strong action item.

Finally, one of the key strengths of SEWA bank is its integrated approach i.e. the provision of financial services in conjunction with social security services and organizing of women workers into their own institutions. Knowledge of all these services and financial decision-making based on an informed choice after knowing of all the services available to the client, leads to wiser, more sustainable decision making.

Main Objective

• To train a cadre of grassroots financial counselors and financial literacy specialists in various aspects of financial planning, within SEWA Bank.

• To have an active client base that is practising sound financial planning in making decisions, through the assistance of a dedicated team of financial planners providing services to them from SEWA Bank, at their doorstep.

Additional Objectives

• To motivate SEWA Bank clients to plan for the future. Women should understand the fact that the future is very uncertain and anything might happen. Therefore, if she has made adequate financial provisions, then she can be assured of a secured tomorrow.
• To change the mindset of women, by encouraging them to plan for the future.
• To lead her to a "feeling of security", by giving her information and access to the various financial products offered by SEWA Bank, and explaining the various life cycle financial needs that each of the schemes are designed to meet. This is also an important tool for empowerment, as knowledge is power.
• To inculcate a feeling of economic independence and belief that the money she is earning today can be useful not only for her present days but also to make her and her family’s future more secure, provided that she invests/plans properly.

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