Self employed women need loans for a wide variety of purposes; to buy assets, raw materials, finished goods for resale, redeem old debts, upgrade their homes, buy transportation means such as a handcart or a pedal cart or put in infrastructure in their homes, such as water or electric connections.

SEWA Bank has been providing a wide range of loan products to meet the productive credit needs of its clients. SEWA Bank requires that a woman save regularly for atleast one year, before she is eligible to apply for a loan. In the absence of traditional collateral, a regular savings habit is deemed a necessary form of security, in SEWA Bank’s experience of banking with the poor for over 25 years.

Terms and Conditions of Loans from SEWA Bank:

Loan Term:3-5 years
Interest Rate: 14.5% - 17%
Interest Method: Diminishing Balance Method
Maximum Loan Amount: Rs.25,000 (unsecured loans)

Each loan is sanctioned following a pre loan check home visit by a SEWA Bank field worker. The amount sanctioned depends mainly on the field workers recommendation, as she is deemed too know the client best.

A customized client credit risk rating instrument is also completed, to have fixed the amount of loan to be sanctioned. This instrument has been developed by SEWA Bank with inputs from professional consultants, tailored to reflect the conditions and situations of SEWA Bank customers.

A summary of SEWA Bank’s total loaning activity for the last eight years is as follows:

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