1. INTRODUCTION

Though research reports by globally renowned agencies predict that India will be the fourth largest economy by 2030 and can sustain its strong GDP growth rates, the fact that there is a growing divergence between the urban and rural areas is a reality. Whether it is economic, social or human development indicators, rural India lags behind urban India and the gap is only widening. Even after a decade of economic reforms, the trickle down impact of urban development to rural areas has been a mirage.

While 70 per cent of the Indian population lives in rural areas, 58 per cent of them depend on agriculture. A major reason for rural poverty is that a large mass of rural population is dependent on agriculture whose contribution to national income has been on a secular decline from 70 to 75 per cent at the time of our independence to only 16.8 per cent currently. Farmer suicides have been a sickening reality and many of the government schemes do not reach the ultimate beneficiaries due to corruption, nepotism and ignorance of the rural population. Though the situation in rural areas is depressing, the developmental activities undertaken by the government, NGO’s and corporates to provide sustainable livelihood to the rural masses is creating a slow but profound transformation in the rural economy as well as in the social status of women. This paper discusses the evolution, role and contribution of SHG’s, NGO’s and corporates in the transformation of the rural economy as well as in tapping the inherent potential of rural women to create income earning opportunities and enable them to look forward to a growth oriented future.

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The study is descriptive in nature. The authors have conducted an extensive review of literature on the subject to decipher the need, evolution, models and performance of women micro entrepreneurship as an enabler of poverty alleviation. Since women micro entrepreneurship has been catalysed by the emergence of the Self Help Group Model, the structure and emergence of the model and also the bank support to the SHG movement were studied. Corporate promotion of micro entrepreneurship in an endeavour to reach the rural masses has been a success story as evidenced by the phenomenal growth and contribution of Project Shakthi and therefore relevant details of Project Shakthi. Since the data for the study is secondary in nature, the authors have sourced the information required for the study from business newspapers, journals, magazines and web resources of specific government departments. The period of study is 2000-2012.

2.1 Objectives of the Study:

The objectives of this paper study are to throw light on the evolution and growth of the Self Help Group (SHG) movement which has played a significant role in alleviating rural poverty and indebtedness and also study the significant contribution made by HUL’s Project Shakthi, a pioneering model combining corporate goals and social responsibility to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to the rural women.

2.2 Literature Review:

Festus Nkpoyen Bassey, Glory Eteng (2012), in their study assessed Micro-lending as an empowerment strategy for poverty alleviation among women in Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. Three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. 300 respondents participated in the study and data were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The study showed that increased savings, promotion of local cooperatives societies and creation of self-employment opportunities significantly related to poverty reduction. The study recommended that Microlending programmes should be encouraged in communities because of impact on household income and more non-governmental organizations should be involved in Micro financing in rural areas.

Norhaziah Nawai, Mohd Noor Mohd Shariff (2010) stated that the aim of microcredit is to help the poor and lower income group to get funds for their business activities and to improve their lives. Usually, the loans given are very small, in short term period, no collateral needed and required weekly repayment. However, repayment problems become the main obstacle for the microcredit institutions to continue providing microcredit services. This is because most of the microcredit institutions are Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs), where they received funds from the government and donors and there are not profits oriented organizations. Therefore, this paper tries to review the determinants of repayment performances in microcredit programs which can be divided into four factors namely borrower characteristics, firm characteristics, loan characteristics and lender characteristics.

Sarmah Gunindra Nath, Das Diganta Kumar (2012) elucidated that development of a nation is very much dependent on the development of rural people. Today, the real problem faced by every developing country like India is the poverty. Poverty is a term with which many developing countries are suffering. Amongst the poor the most disadvantageous group are the women. Microfinance to Self Help Groups (SHGs) may be considered as a vital tool for meeting the financial requirement of those poorer sections of the society living in the rural areas. The present research paper is an attempt to analyse the role of Micro-Finance and Self-Help-Groups (SHGs) for the socio-economic development of the poor people in Lakhimpur district of Assam. For collecting the primary data a total of 50 SHGs and five (5) members from each SHG (50x5=250 respondents) were randomly selected covering the entire Lakhimpur district. From the study it has been found that after joining the SHGs the poor rural people can increase their income and improve their standard of living by performing economic activities independently.

Rao R. Nageswar, Dr. Veenapani (2012) stated that at the all Indian level, during 1998–99, 18,678 Self Help Groups (SHGs) were formed which increased to 69,53,250 groups during 2009–10. Similarly the credit disbursed during 1998–99 was Rs. 333 million and increased to Rs. 1,44,533 million during 2009–10. With huge amount of loans being disbursed under microfinance programmes, there is a need to study the utilization of loans by the beneficiaries and hence this study is taken up. The State of Andhra Pradesh has the highest penetration of microfinance in India; hence the state was selected for the study. A sample of eight hundred and ten members was selected from three districts of Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh, using multistage sampling method. Loan utility is classified into productive and non-productive usage. It was found that loan utilized for productive purpose increased from first loan to fourth loan, but decreased during the fifth loan dosage. This causes concern. Loan utilization was found to be dependent of member's education, occupation and their association with the microfinance programme. Loan utilization was found to be independent of cumulative bank loan availed by the members. In order to channelize the loans for productive purpose, a proper credit appraisal coupled with training for enterprise development should be taken up on a large scale. This will empower and enable the poor to become self-sufficient.

Dr. Vishnudev P.,(2010) stated that recognizing the potential of self help groups in improving the local economy and alleviation of poverty, the government of Kerala has taken a big leap by leveraging the thrift movement through a unique and integrated project called Kudumbashree. The study has been undertaken to analyze the unique contribution the thrift movement is making to the entrepreneurship development in the social and economic context. The study also highlights the associated features and improvements that occurred both internally and externally; besides bringing in to focus the critical success factors which created the necessary environment for entrepreneurship development and empowerment of women in Kerala.

According to Anil K Gupta and Manu Shroff (1987), the credit portfolio of different branches do not match properly with the multi-market and diversified enterprises of poor households in different regions. B.M Desai (1994) found that the rural households’ capacity to save is low and/or stagnant. Anil Bhatt (1991) found that till recently, none of the development programmes included women as a category among the poorer sections. It has been found that more effective poverty programmes are either exclusively for women or at least place a special emphasis on women as a category.

Agarwal Surabhi (2011) opined that the questions surrounding women's empowerment the condition and position of women have now become critical issue not only to human rights based approaches to development but also to the society. With the advent of industrialization, globalization, mass education and a sense of right of equality and to do something, women are putting their steps in the entrepreneurial world. They have to perform the multifaceted roles in the society along with their professional life. The paper discusses the need to empower the women, the way and various schemes run by the government to improve the statues of women in the society.

Prakash Bakshi (1995) stated that there have been stray attempts earlier to empower the women. In most cases, these efforts brought the poor closer to each other so that they worked as groups and not as individuals and shared their pooled meager resources, financial and human, to meet the needs of the day. Over a period of time, their decision-making process, their managerial capacities, and their skills at resource management—financial and other—improved.

V.Mayoux (1999) identified that three paradigms aim at the empowerment of women. They are: (i) An economic paradigm that promotes development interventions to improve women’s capacity for increasing their income either through employment or micro-enterprises, (ii) A poverty alleviation paradigm which focuses on addressing practical needs, such as health or education, as the best way of addressing gender inequality and as a consequence women are empowered; and (iii) A feminist paradigm, which addresses gender subordination at the individual, organisational and macro levels.

Prameela and Smita Premchander (2006) stated that women micro-entrepreneurship programmes are largely implemented through women’s self help groups (SHGs). Lakshmi R. Vadivalagan G (2011) elucidated that Self Help Groups (SHGs) have emerged as a key strategy for women development. The Tamil Nadu Women Development Project under the name of Mahalir thittam in Tamil nadu has now grown into a mammoth movement covering all districts in the state, targeting poor families and the marginalized sections of the society. Some women do get benefitted from such programmes, increasing their incomes and bargaining power in the household and their status in the community. But other issues like control over credit and income from credit, additional workload and debt burden after joining the SHG, problems in marketing the products and facing competition are to be explored in depth.

N.K Gayathri, V.G Siddaraju (2012) stated that poverty and unemployment are the two major problems of under developed countries, to which India is no exception. The union government has implemented various schemes to reduce poverty and promote gainful employment opportunities. But the most attractive scheme with less effort is the “Self Help Groups”. It is atoll to remove poverty and improve rural development. Self Help Groups (SHGs) can be defined as supportive educational and usually change oriented mutual aid group that addresses life problems or conditions commonly shared by all members. Empowerment is a multi-dimensional process, which should enable women or groupof women to realize their full identity and power in all spheres of life. With this background, a critical study of the evaluation of the SHG's will be the immense use in knowing the functioning, prospects and problems in their operation and to suggest appropriate strategies for successful functioning of SHG (Sabyasachi Das, 2003).The study was conducted during 2010–11 in Shimoga district of Karnataka. Shimoga district has been front running districts in the SHG program in Karnataka. Self Help Groups play an important role in empowering the women in India. Self Help Groups through microfinance has helped the rural women in transforming them from Grameen Ladies in to Women entrepreneurs. The SHG's act as a support group developing courage and offering mutual solace and comfort to the members. It is when training in accounts and managerial inputs are given, that the availability of Credit leads to the setting up of successful ventures. This success in turn leads to a growth of their confidence and improves their status at home and in the community.

H Shriprasad (2010) opined that women constitute significant a part in a household as well as in the economy. But women are found to be in disadvantaged position as compared to men. Out of several efforts to up-lift women economically, the SHG as a strategy to empower women gained prominence in India by 1980s. Present study focuses on, the review the studies carried out to examine various issues relating to the women's empowerment and identifies the issues for research. Secondly, study examines many socio-economic and institutional constraints, which exist to empower women through SHG microfinance among social groups. This study was carried out in Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka State. Data collected across the social groups and promoters in the selected taluks of the district. Purposive sampling method, Sample size was 302(members).

Patil Sanjaykumar Jagannath Patil Yogita Sanjaykumar (2012) had the objective of studying the contribution of Self Help Group (Bachat Gat) in Economical and Personal Development of Self Help Group (Bachat Gat) members and Impact of this Economical and Personal Development on Rural Economy. It was found that due to the SHG (Bachat Gat), its members get chance to increase their income by participating in various activities of SHG. This employment gives them money for spending on their needs and wants. The Research concluded that due to the role of SHG, members increase their Economical status in the community by increasing their income. The members improve their Personal life style and living standard by their increased income and spending on their needs and wants. These members increased their consumption from market. This increased consumption reflects the ultimate Development in Rural Economy.

Prof. Ali Syed Dr. Jabeen Urooj Afshan (2011) aimed to know the impact of the Self-help Groups (SHGs) on poverty alleviation through capacity development of its members. The study was conducted in Kapiri Mposhi district of the Central Province in Zambia. Ten SHGs and 320 members were selected randomly. The study used six indicators of capacity development of the members of SHGs, that is, human capital – education and training; natural capital purchase of land, irrigation and soil fertility development; physical capital purchase of equipment, livestock; financial capital – savings; local specific development – access to infrastructure, public services; and social capital participation in any organization, ability to represent social problems.

The study concluded that the impact of SHGs on poverty alleviation through capacity development was positive. In all, 44.37% members of SHGs could increase their income above the poverty line through capacity development. The study suggested for the provision of marketing and credit facilities to increase the income of SHGs and to increase the capacity of members to alleviate poverty. M J Xavier, J Raja and Usha Nandhini S (2008), in their study found that involvement in Project Shakti led to entrepreneurial development resulting in economic empowerment, which in turn led to social empowerment, the dimension from which the women derived the greatest satisfaction. HUL has blended sales objectives with societal objectives which has resulted in the women entrepreneurs getting recognised in their local communities as opinion leaders.

3. RURAL WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP:

Though women entrepreneurship has been on the rise in the urban areas because of access to education, increased awareness and better opportunities, the same was not true in the semi urban and rural areas where due to centuries of ingrained mental conditioning, women were subjugated and in many cases accepted it as the way of life. Creating and sustaining women entrepreneurship is of special significance in the rural landscape in order to break the vicious cycle of ignorance, poverty, ill health and neglect. A research paper of the Asian Development Bank has clearly pointed out that gender discrimination and subjugation of women is not only a social but also an economic phenomenon. Generation of employment and income through micro enterprises in rural areas can serve the four objectives of, (i) reduction of poverty, (ii) women empowerment, (iii) employment generation and (iv) enterprise development. Development of women entrepreneurship has positive implication on poverty alleviation and emancipation of women. Women micro enterprises enable income generation, improve food and health security, support education of their children and provide better social status. Since support of women entrepreneurship contributes to economic development and also social development the government and the voluntary organisations have promoted the concept of SHG’s on the basis of the successful Grameen model.

4. EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF SHG’S:

The path breaking initiative of Grameen Bank pioneered by Prof. Mod.Yunus for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize, amply demonstrated the fact that entrepreneurial activity among small groups of poor women can be a sustainable business model. It was only in the early 1990s that the Union government realised the potential of micro-credit. Consequently the concept of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) was formulated and promoted through public sector banks. However, much earlier in 1983, a little known West Bengal organization called Centre of Communication and Development (CCD) had realized the potential of this credit mechanism. In a village called Chowrashi in the North 24 Parganas district, it used this model to harness women’s power for the economic development of the region. CCD, which was set up in 1980 organised Self Reliant Groups (SRG’s), each group comprising of 5-10 women. Each group had to garner an identical amount of savings, which were then associated with a revolving credit program.

To begin with seed capital in the form of live-stock was given to each group. This was rotated among members, helping each to earn money and create capital assets. This set the ball rolling; more income led to more savings and higher goals. The groups turned up with more business schemes. CCD began providing loans without interest and ensured group contribution. Helped by this process, SRG women began with businesses involving poultry, farming, vegetable vending, carpentry, sewing, pottery, book binding and manufacturing bamboo baskets and fishing nets. Initially, savings per head per month were low as Rs.5 but now it has increased more than 10 times. As on date, CCD has promoted more than 800 SRGs covering more than 45,000 people in five districts of West Bengal.

4.1 The Different Models:

There are basically three models of SHGs in the country. In the first model SHG’s are directly linked to the banks. In the second model NGOs act as intermediaries between banks and the SHGs. In the third model, NGOs act as retailers of loans to the SHGs with the price of money placed anywhere between 24 per cent and 32 per cent. The second model where the NGOs act as non-pricing intermediaries is the most preferred model. The risk is entirely borne by the women groups and the regulatory burden is nil. The funds collected by the women are placed with banks and they in turn offer an equal or higher loan amount with defaults as of date being nil.

4.2 Current Scenario:

74,61,946 Self Help Groups (SHGs) were in existence as on March 31, 2011, of which 80% being Women SHGs. I The SHG-banking venture to reach credit to the poorest, especially women in the rural areas, has met with great success and has also enabled financial inclusion. As on 31^st March 2009, 61,21,147 SHGs were having saving bank accounts with savings of Rs. 5,545.62 crore as against 50,09,794 SHGs having savings of Rs. 3785.39 crore as on 31 March 2008, with the growth rate of 22.2% and 46.5% respectively.

During the year under review, the average savings per SHG with all banks had increased from Rs 7,556 as on 31 March 2008 to Rs. 9,060 as on 31 March 2009. It varied from as high of Rs.12,218 per SHG with RRBs to as low of Rs. 7,812 per SHG with Commercial Banks. As on 31 March 2009, the share of women SHGs in the total SHGs with saving bank accounts was 48,63,921 SHGs forming 79.46 % as compared to the last year’s share of 79.56%. More than 8.6 crore poor households were associated with banking agencies under SHG-Bank Linkage Programme. As on 31 March 2009, the Commercial Banks had the maximum share of SHGs’ savings of 35,49,509 SHGs (58%) with savings amount of Rs. 2772.99 crore (50%) followed by Regional Rural Banks having savings bank accounts of 16,28,588 SHGs (26.6%) with savings amount of Rs. 1989.75 crore (35.9%) and Cooperative Banks having savings bank accounts of 9,43,050 SHGs (15.4%) with savings amount of Rs. 782.88 crore (14.1%). Of the total saving linked and credit linked linked SHGs, exclusive women SHGs saving linked and credit linked with banks were 79.5% and 85.4%, respectively. Further, the percentage of loans outstanding of exclusive women SHGs to total SHGs which was 78.45% as on 31st March 2008 had increased to 81.93% as on 31st March 2009. During the year (2011-12), 7.3 lakh SHGs have been promoted by NABARD and linked with banking system in terms of savings accounts as against about 6 lakh SHGs promoted during last year, taking total the number of SHGs promoted and saving linked with banks to 82 lakh. Joint Liability Groups (JLG) In order to augment the flow of credit to small and marginal farmers and other micro entrepreneurs, about 1.50 lakh JLGs were promoted taking cumulative position to over 2.90 lakh JLGs.

The number of SHG borrowers declined by around four per cent, from 11.96 million to 11.48 million between March 2011 and March 2012, according to the Nabard report. Also, in percentage terms, the gross NPA from SHGs increased from 4.72 per cent as on March 2011 to 6.09 per cent as on March 2012. the amount of fresh loans issued to SHGs by banks rose 13.70 per cent to Rs 16,535 crore in 2011-12, against Rs 14,548 crore in the previous year. While commercial banks accounted for 63 per cent of the savings of the SHGs, their share in fresh lending against total lending to SHGs was just 60 per cent. In contrast, while regional rural banks had a savings share of just 20 per cent from SHGs, their share of fresh lending to them was close to 30 per cent. The number of SHGs having loans outstanding against banks declined by nine per cent during the year to Rs 43.54 lakh, against Rs 47.87 lakh in the previous year. All states barring Karnataka, Puducherry and Himachal Pradesh recorded a decline in the number of SHGs. In absolute terms, the gross NPA against loans to SHGs increased from Rs 1,474 crore at the end of March 2011 to Rs 2213 crore in March 2012. The gross NPA against loans to SHGs stood at Rs 2,212 crore in March 2012, against a total outstanding of Rs 36,340 crore.

On the latest count, 504 banks are involved in financing of SHG’s comprising of, 48 commercial banks; 192 regional rural banks; 264 co-op banks; 2,800 NGOs. Of the 8.17 lakh SHGs, 64 per cent are in the South, one per cent in the North-East, 5 per cent in the North, 6 per cent in the West and 13 per cent in the East. Andhra Pradesh has the maximum number of SHGs. There are about 4.36 lakh women self-help groups in Andhra Pradesh covering nearly 58.29 lakh poor women and the state has about half of the SHGs organised in the country.

5. WOMEN MICRO ENTREPRENEURSHIP- THE SYMBIOTIC ROLE:

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), the Indian subsidiary of Unilever has developed micro entrepreneurs through its Project Shakti by engaging women in rural areas to act as direct-to-home sales distributors of the company’s products. Through Project Shakti, HUL links up with members of self help groups formed for microfinance activities by local NGOs to access BOP markets in the rural areas. The project has scaled up rapidly, operating among 500 million people in 500,000 villages in India.

Project Shakti, which was piloted in Nalgonda district in 2001, started with 17 women in two villages. It now provides livelihood enhancement opportunities to 45,000 women in 15 States and provides access to products to 1,00,000 plus villages and 3 million households and contributes to 10 per cent of rural turnover nationally. In most Shakthi markets, the company is dominant and enjoys a higher market share when compared to non-Shakthi markets.

Sujathamma, among the first Shakti entrepreneurs, is a shining example of the success of the model. On an initial loan of Rs 10,000 from her SHG to start the enterprise, she now has a turnover of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 a month, earns a profit of Rs 750-Rs 2,000 a month, at an average return of 8 per cent. Besides, she now sells staples, sugar, edible oil and a variety of other household items.

5.1 Objective of Project Shakti:

The objective is to create income-generating capabilities for underprivileged rural women by providing a sustainable micro-enterprise opportunity and to improve rural living standards through health and hygiene awareness. This model serves three business purposes: (i) Increase in penetration and market share (ii) Deterrent to counterfeits especially in rural areas (iii) Ongoing contact with over 2 million rural homes.

5.2 Benefits to the company and community:

For HLL, it is an effective way to penetrate the underserved rural markets. Rural markets (6,00,000 villages) present an attractive opportunity because they account for more than 65 per cent of the 1.1 billion Indian population. For HLL greater penetration in rural areas is also an imperative because over 50 per cent of its incomes for several of its product categories like soaps and detergents come from rural India. Regional brands, or even larger FMCG companies, do not have the kind of distribution reach that HLL has established and in the long run, that could prove a winner for HLL, according to analysts. The most powerful aspect about this model, is that it creates a win-win partnership between HLL and its consumers, some of whom will also draw on the organization for their livelihood, and it builds a self-sustaining virtuous cycle of growth for all

5.3 The business model:

Project Shakti provides micro-enterprise opportunities for women from Self-help groups, making them direct-to-home distributors of Hindustan Lever. The ‘Shaktiammas’ work as brand ambassadors for the company by selling products directly to village consumers. A woman from a SHG selected as a Shakti entrepreneur (Shakthiamma) receives stocks at her doorstep from the HLL rural distributor and sells direct to consumers as well as to retailers in the village. Each Shakti entrepreneur services 6-10 villages in the population strata of 1,000-2,000 people. A Shakti entrepreneur sets off with 4-5 chief brands from the HLL portfolio - Lifebuoy, Wheel, Pepsodent, Annapurna salt and Clinic Plus and the company adds other products based on whatever else is in demand like talcum powder or Vaseline during winters . These brands apart, other brands which find favour with a rural audience are: Lux, Ponds, Nihar and 3 Roses tea. Typically, unit packs are small. To get started, the Shakti woman borrows from her SHG and the company itself chooses only one person. With training and hand-holding by the company for the first three months, she begins her door-to-door journey selling her wares.

5.4 Present Scenario:

The project which was piloted in 2000 has been a great success for the company. Its expansion has been impressive from 2 states in 2002 to 12 states in 2004 and currently is operational in 17 states. The project has brought in a welcome change among the rural women populace by providing them an income earning source which also improved their standing in their families. Currently there are over 45,000 Shakti Ammas and their number is increasing on a steady scale. To further widen its distribution reach to remote villages having a population of less than 2,000

The company had employed the men folk in the top 20,000 Shakthiamma’s families to distribute its products. This has enabled the company to cover an additional 2 lakh villages and expand its total coverage to 5 lakh villages. The men folk are called as Shaktimaans and each of them is given products as well as a bicycle to take products to villages with 5km radius. The pilot project was implemented successfully in Orissa which has 50,000 villages and the concept has spread across India and currently there are around 26,000 Shaktimaans who are distributing HUL’s products in the hinterlands

5.5 Roadmap for the Future :

The next stage of Project Shakti is even more ambitious. HLL is now in the process of piloting ‘I-Shakti’, an IT-based rural information service that will provide solutions to key rural needs in the areas of agriculture, education, vocational training, health and hygiene. The project will be piloted in Nalgonda district again. Based on a palm pilot, HLL is looking at sourcing appropriate low-cost hardware from Hewlett-Packard while Unilever Research out of London is developing the consumer interactivity software.

6. CONCLUSION:

Micro entrepreneurship through SHG’s and the innovative model developed by HUL Ltd., need to become more broad based. The spread of the movement has resulted in better income and food security to the families of the beneficiaries. Based on the improved social standing, women are increasingly voicing their concerns and are willingly coming forward to stand for elections as evidenced by the Kudumbashree movement in Kerala. Apart from the governmental initiatives, corporate involvement in this area would prove to be win-win situation for the corporate as well as the local community. Considering the fact the rural markets contribute to significant demand for all product categories, increasing rural incomes would pave the way for sustained economic and social growth.

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Received on 03.01.2013 Modified on 16.01.2013

Asian J. Management 4(1): Jan.-Mar. 2013 page 47-53

Developmental paradigm of poverty alleviation through fostering of micro entrepreneurship– An analytical review

1. INTRODUCTION