From dreams to reality - How Rang De's micro-credit drive is transforming women to entrepreneurs

Every morning, after dropping her children along with a few other kids from her village to school in Dhannipatti in the north Indian city of Mirzapur, Pragya Devi heads to the main market area to start the 'morning route' of her e-rickshaw business. She usually charges 15 rupees for one drop-off per person if the distance is within three kilometres.

If business is good in the first half of the day, she instantly buys vegetables for the family. Her passion for automobiles is what describes her the best. While this passion for women in her community is rare, it is revolutionary to see a married woman clad in a traditional Indian sari and a vermilion mark on her head riding an e-rickshaw, transporting men, women and children around the male-dominated locales of Mirzapur.

ALSO READ | Who is Hekani Jakhalu? Nagaland's first-ever woman MLA creates history in Northeast Elections 2023

Add WION as a Preferred Source

From women being astonished when they first see her to women feeling proud of her - Pragya Devi has observed her community come to terms with this 'shock' in their environment. During one round of her e-rickshaw, a young girl, who is currently a nurse, wondered, “If she can do it, we can do it”. Pragya Devi carries the message of women's empowerment with her wherever she goes, creating a positive domino effect.

Thousands of women like Pragya Devi are today waiting for someone to help them bridge the gap between dreams and reality, even if the help is just a small amount like Rs 40,000 ($489). This is the magic wand that Rang De's founder Smita Ram and with her husband Ram NK are carrying, to empower women from these rural belts of India to rise and shine.

Rang De – an attempt at last mile financial inclusion "women"

For the burgeoning women entrepreneurs in rural areas and courageously taking a step ahead to work for themselves and their families, Rang De has emerged as a blessing, a helping hand from one woman to another.

Established in 2008, Rang De is the first social peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform in India, which is providing low-cost and affordable credit to unbanked communities.

The platform provides individuals with the opportunity to turn themselves into social investorsby lending small amounts of money to those who have never borrowed from any bank or are financially excluded. This is done at a small interest rate and Rang De further encourages these social investors to reinvest the repayments received, thus creating an infinite loop of impact.

WATCH |Gravitas: UN chief warns gender equality still 300 years away

Speaking about the mission of Rang De Smita Ram told WION, "What we aim to address through Rang De is to enable underbanked communities to get access to affordable credit, and also bridge the empathy gap between urban and rural India."

With 80 per cent of investees being rural women, this novel idea is helping the women of developing India break the clutches of poverty and prosper. Taking pride in lending support to such women, Smita Ram said, "We are already seeing women making great strides when it comes to building enterprises and becoming self-reliant. You invest in a woman and you will see an entire community develop".

You cannow write for wionews.comand be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with ushere.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE