VAMA : Bal Mahila Vikas Samiti is a non profit organization established in 1988 and working in area of women empowerment, rural health services, micro finance. It operates in Gwalior, Chambal and Bundelkhand region and has head office at gwalior. Contact details : 0751 2457438 bmvs1988@yahoo.co.in

1. 0
VAMA’S EMPOWERED WOMEN
NOORAIN KAZMI
SPJIMR DOCC Project Report
4th
March – 13th
April 2013

2. 1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to express our thanks to the Dean Dr. M.L Srikant for giving us the opportunity
to take up this project.
Our sincere thanks and gratitude to Prof. Nirja Mattoo, Chaiperson, Centre for
Development of Corporate Citizenship for allocating us this project and providing her
invaluable guidance all along.
We would also like to thank Prof. Lata Dhir for her guidance which played a huge role in the
final outcome of the project.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Mr. Indra Bhushan Verma, CEO, VAMA our
project guide. We would also like to thank the staff at VAMA for their help and support.

3. 2
contents
Featured Articles
03 Executive Summary
04 Background
05 Problem Definition and Framing
05 Context of the project
07 SWOT Analysis
08 Methodology Used
08 Scope of the Project
08 Field Work Executed
09 Assessment and Experience
Sharing of Hardships Faced by the
Community
16 Analysis of Findings
16 Conclusion
16 Recommendations
18 Specific Contribution to DOCC Project
19 Appendix
07 Problem Statement
07 Project Objectives
10
10 Critical Review of Unstructured
Processes and Systems
10 Microfinance Impact Survey
11 Survey Findings

4. 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Established in the year 1988, VAMA (Bal Mahila Vikas Samiti), a non-profit voluntary
organisation, aims at establishing an egalitarian society. Activities extend to training the
women folk on resource generation, financial literacy and promoting ecologically sustainable
farming system. VAMA made its foray into microfinance in July 2006 with a strong
background of two decades of social work.
The scope of the project involved the assessment of the long-term and sustainable changes
in the lives of women, households and communities catered by VAMA’s microfinance and
social development programs. To assess the impact both qualitative and quantitative
techniques were used. A case study was performed on a client of VAMA’s microfinance. A
total of 100 women (Target Group + Control Group) were surveyed to assess the impact on
household level, personal level and enterprise level of the clients.
From the survey it was found that
1. 65.5% of the clients reported increase in their income and 70.7% reported increase in
savings.
2. 32% and 21% of the target group and control group respectively received credit from
sources other than VAMA’s microfinance.
3. 53.4% respondents were completely satisfied with VAMA with no dislikes.
4. 46.6% of the clients were most satisfied with VAMA’s low interest rates.
5. In the target group, there was a shift in economic decision making in the household
from men to women or to joint decision making.
6. Several women started new businesses and reinvested in existing microenterprises
It was recommended that
1. VAMA should increase its efforts to reach out to clients and to increase the loan
amount given to individual clients.
2. There is a need for development of new products such as savings, insurance, leasing,
money transfers, etc.
3. In order to increase client volumes, managing larger loan portfolios and to introduce
new products, VAMA’s operational capabilities have to be improved.
4. VAMA should establish Key Performance Indicators (such as number of new groups
formed; collection time) for Field Executives and provide additional incentives such
as increments in salary, etc. based on these indicators.

5. 4
A. BACKGROUND
AMA, a non-profit voluntary organization, was registered in 1988 under Madhya
Pradesh Societies Registration Act 1973. It works for creating equality for the poor,
marginalized and deprived women. VAMA has been operating in the backward and
drought-affected Gwalior, Chambal and Bundelkhand regions of Madhya Pradesh. VAMA
targets both rural and urban population.
Currently, VAMA covers 191 villages, 48 gram panchayats and 32 urban slums. The head
office is situated in Gwalior, MP. Customers generally hear about VAMA through references
and majority of them are repeat clients. VAMA markets its business through word-of-mouth,
door-to-door, internet, leaflets/brochures and phone. Majority of clients of VAMA fall below
₹10,000 monthly income per household.
V
MICROFINANCE PROGRAM SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMS
VAMA GROUP OF COLLEGES
 Dairy
 Agriculture
 Micro-enterprises
 Services
 House Repair and Maintenance
 Women Empowerment
 Health
 Livelihood Promotion
 Child and Education
 Female Feticide
 Natural Resource Management
 Domestic Violence
 BBA, BCA, B.Com, B. Sc (Bio)
 ANM in Datia district for training
women in nursing
Programs under VAMA
MISSION VISION VALUES
“To provide easily accessible,
quality financial services to poor
clients especially women for
improving their quality of life”
“To become the best
microfinance service provider,
reaching 50,000 active clients by
2018 in Gwalior-Chambal region
of Madhya Pradesh”
 Accountability
 Transparency
 Professionalism
 Effective team work &
respect for all
 Commitment
 Gender equality
Core of VAMA’s Strategy

6. 5
VAMA wants to be known as an organization which provides excellent MF services to poor
women. VAMA plans to reach 50,000 active clients by 2018 by introducing individual and
emergency loans besides the main JLG(Joint Liability Group) product line.
VAMA is headed by Mr. Indra Bhushan Verma, CEO. It has three separate divisions: Social
development programs, microfinance and VAMA group of colleges. The hierarchy is shown
in the organization structure above. VAMA currently has more than 30 employees. The
turnover rate is around 20%.
Currently, VAMA is financially stable with a consolidated profit of ₹23,12,257 and a loan
portfolio of ₹3,00,20,205. A comprehensive list of institutes related to VAMA can be found in
Appendix-B
B. PROBLEM DEFINITION AND FRAMING
Context of the Project
VAMA Microfinance
he microfinance sector in India recorded a positive growth during the year 2012-
2013 despite the catastrophe in the state of Andhra Pradesh. India has the largest
MFI sector in the world with 62% per annum growth in terms of number of unique
clients and 88% per annum growth in terms of portfolio over 2005-2010 . The number of
effective clients in March 2011 end is lower by 65% than in the previous year. This is mainly
due to write-off of a large number of clients in Andhra Pradesh. The number of borrower
accounts is still more than twice the number of accounts catered by the Regional Rural
Banks.
T
Executive Board
Chief
Functionary
Social
Development
Programs
Project Manager
Village Level
Motivators
Program
Associate
Accountant
Asst.
Accountant
Microfinance COO Branch Manager
Asst. Branch
Manager Field Officers
VAMA Group of
Colleges Director Principal Accountant
Teaching
Faculty
Organisation Structure of VAMA

7. 6
VAMA microfinance was started in 2006. VAMA offers microcredit to poor women for the
following purposes: dairy, agriculture, microenterprises, services and house repair &
maintenance. VAMA has adopted the JLG approach wherein 5 to 10 members come
together to form a group. The interest rate is 24% per annum on a reducing basis. The
repayment rate is around 98.5%.
Social Development Programs (SDPs)
VAMA started as an organization in 1988 with the main goal of empowerment of women by
engaging in social development programs. VAMA is still doing these programs. These
programs do not generate profits. Some of the main programs are:
1. Sustainable livelihood Program (CASA): The project aims to increase the
participation of women in Panchayati Raj institutions. The training includes building
awareness and capacity of elected women.
2. Financial Literacy program: The program tries to change the attitude of women
towards money or their financial behavior. The knowledge of difference between
consumption and investment, methods of interest calculation, fungibility and
difference between avoidable and unavoidable expenses is provided to the women.
3. ASHA training: VAMA in association with the government of MP has taken the
charge to provide training to ASHA’s in the Datia district of MP.
4. International Women’s Day (IWD): VAMA celebrates IWD by organizing social
programs in villages. This year a program to spread awareness on female feticide
was organized in Rora village.

8. 7
SWOT Analysis of VAMA
Problem Statement
VAMA used no tool to measure the effectiveness of its MF and SDPs and to know how
women are affected by its initiatives. This hindered VAMA to take certain decisions regarding
its expansion and growth. The satisfaction level of clients was not known to VAMA. An
impact study was necessary to gauge VAMA’s work.
Project Objective
The main objective of the project was to make VAMA self-aware about its work and to know
the opinion of the clients and various stakeholders about the effectiveness of VAMA as an
organization. The objective was to be achieved by the following:
1. By making an impact study as to what changes VAMA MFI has made on the lives of
the women, households and communities involved.
2. By making an impact study as to what changes VAMA’s SDPs have made on the
lives of the women, households and communities involved.
3. By recommending on the new products which need to be designed for the future to
meet the requirements of the people like education loan, emergency loan, etc.

9. 8
C.METHODOLOGY
Scope of the Project
he scope of the project involved the assessment of the long-term and sustainable
changes in the lives of women, households and communities catered by VAMA’s
microfinance and women empowerment programs (CASA’s reinforcing women for
Sustainable Livelihood, NABARD’s financial literacy and Asha training). To assess the
impact both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used. The women and their
households were observed while visiting their houses during microfinance activities of group
formation, collection, etc. In-depth interviews were taken of participants of sustainable
livelihood program, financial literacy programs and Asha training. A case study was
performed on a client of VAMA’s microfinance. A total of 100 women (Target Group:57;
Control Group:43) were surveyed to assess the impact on household level, personal level
and enterprise level of the clients. The target group consisted of women who had been
clients of VAMA’s microfinance for more than 2 years. The control group consisted of women
who were new clients of VAMA’s microfinance (loans had not been disbursed to these
women or had been disbursed for fewer than two months).
Field Work Executed
No. Days Area Details
1 3 Kale Kar Bai Ki Goth
Tehsil, Gwalior District.
Observation of 3-4 group formation processes in urban
slums of Gwalior
2 2 Morar District Observation of 10-15 group collection processes
3 1 Kale Kar Bai Ki Goth
Tehsil, Gwalior District.
Group recognition test by following the same group with
Deepak Malhotra, Branch Manager and Punita, Field
Executive.
4 1 Morar Accompanied Branch Manager, Deepak Malhotra and Field
Executive, Madan field investigation process
5 1 Raura village, Gwalior Women’s Day Event - Creating awareness on female
feticide.– Guest of honor and main speaker.
6 1 Datiya Observed Asha training process. Interviewed five trainees,
three trainers and VAMA officials in charge of the five-day
residential training program.
7 1 Dabra In-depth interviews with a group of 20 women participants
of Financial Literacy program.
8 1 Berja Interviewed Branch coordinator of Bank of India, Berja
branch
9 1 Veerpur Girwai In-depth interview of Badami Bai
10 4 Shreeja: Around 20
urban slums in and
around Gwalior and
Morar district
Impact Assessment Survey – 40 respondents.(20 target
group, 20 control group)
11 4 Noorain: Around 20
urban slums in and
around Gwalior and
Morar district
Impact Assessment Survey – 40 respondents.(20 target
group, 20 control group)
12 1 VAMA, Gwalior Office Disbursement process
13 2 VAMA, Gwalior Office Attended two day seminar by INBAR on financial security of
NGOs and rural livelihood generation and presented
findings of our impact survey.
Mr. Bharat Parekh – Senior Programme Officer INBAR
Dr. I. V. Ramanuja Rao – Programme Director INBAR
T

10. 9
Assessment and Experience Sharing of Hardships Faced
by the Community
 An in-depth interview of Ms. Badami Bai, one of the clients of VAMA MF, was taken
to know about the hardships faced by her and how VAMA MF had improved her life.
The audio interview can be found in Appendix-D
Badami’s husband left her after marriage and she went to her father’s home with her
two sons. She worked in a factory earning ₹50 per day. It was very difficult for her to
manage her family alone. With such low earnings she had to make her sons drop out
of school and she made them work as wage earners.
In 2006, Badami joined the VAMA MF program. From the first loan amount, she
started doing sewing work. She always wanted to sell bangles and the second loan
amount of ₹10,000 helped her to procure bangles for selling. Her business is growing
steadily. Her grandsons are attending private school, she has a television, a fan and
a cooler and she dreams of constructing two additional rooms.
The VAMA MF is helping not just Badami but thousands of other women who were
just sitting in their houses doing house work and were not being a part of the family
income generation. Indirectly, the program is making the women stand on their own
feet and empowering them.
 At the Asha training centre at Datia, interviews were taken of Ms. Manji, Ms.
Anuradha and Ms. Baisakhi. They were very shy in answering the questions but
whatever they said was noted. They have been working as Asha from 5-6 years.
They travel around their village twice in a week. They said they are doing this work
as Asha so that they can earn some money for their family. They enjoy doing their
work and also get respect in their communities. The interview transcript can be found
in Appendix-D
Asha training program is an initiative by the government of India. The main objective
of the program is to lower infant mortality rate and mother mortality rate. VAMA is
doing a good work for the community by training the Ashas.
 We also interacted with participants of Financial Literacy programs. Before the
program, they did not know about savings and bank deposits. But now most of them
save around ₹1500 per month in their Bank of India (BOI) accounts. We also talked
to the Branch Coordinator of BOI who was happy with the increase in the number of
bank accounts after financial literacy program and he also told us that the number of
women visiting the bank has increased drastically.

11. 10
Financial literacy program started only 6 months back. There is much to be done in
this field. Most of the women interviewed had little or no knowledge of savings. One
of the women told us that she got no benefit from the program. So an assessment is
necessary to gauge the impact of this program.
Unstructured Processes and Systems
 There is no HR department in VAMA but there is an HR manual.
 VAMA employs children below the age of 16 years as office attendants.
 The operation, accounts, HR and business development manuals have not been
signed by the head of the organization and they have not been updated for a long
time. The manuals could not be regarded as official manuals.
 The dropout rate was found to be high. One of the finance manager left the
organization during our training. There was no backup for him since other staff was
not well trained to handle finance.
 VAMA uses no tool to gauge the impact of its MF programs and SDPs.
 There is high dependency on Mr. Indra Bhushan Verma.
 The website has not been updated for a very long time.
Microfinance Impact Survey
SURVEY OBJECTIVES AND DESIGN
The study focuses on the assessment of the long-term and sustainable changes in the lives
of women, households and communities catered by VAMA’s microfinance.
Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used. For the impact survey, standardized
data was collected. Qualitative techniques of in-depth interviews with clients and case
studies were used.
In our survey the control group respondents have either already formed groups or are in the
process of forming groups (hence any characteristic thought to be unique to VAMA members
applies to them as well) but the loans have not yet been disbursed or have been disbursed
for fewer than two months.The assumption is that those choosing to join the program are
similar to existing clients in terms of demographic characteristics, motivation, and business
experience and thus offer an appropriate and easily identified comparison group. A total of
100 women from a representative set of villages and urban slums of Gwalior district
participated in the survey.

12. 11
38%
35%
17%
10%
Target Group
Illiterate
Primary
Lower
Secondary
Secondary
33%
41%
19%
7%
Control Group
Illiterate
Primary
Lower
Secondary
Secondary
26%
59%
16%
14%
43%
43%
>40
Between 30 & 40
<=30
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Control Group Target Group
Survey Findings
LITERACY LEVELS OF RESPONDENTS
The target group has 73% of illiterate and only primary-schooled women while the control
group has 74% of women with these qualifications. The average number of years in school
for both the groups is four years. Since the literacy rates for both the groups are similar they
aren’t expected to significantly bias comparisons between these groups.
AGE PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS
The respondents of the target group are older
than those of the control group. One of the
reasons behind this difference in the “> 40”
category could be because only women under
50 are allowed to form groups, but women in
existing groups can continue even if they turn
older. Older women can be said to have more
experience, more time to accumulate skills and
assets. This may be an external factor the
biases our results in favor of the target group.
CREDIT SOURCE
Loans from sources other than VAMA are an
external factor that could bias our impact study as
the positive or negative effects observed could be
due to these loans and not necessarily because of
VAMA’s microfinance program.
Most of the respondents in either of the groups
currently do not borrow from any other source, and

13. 12
the ones that do usually depend on friends (part of “Others”) and family members.
Households that are currently members of VAMA’s program are also reaching out more to
other sources of finance – banks and other microfinance institutions (Samhita MF).
However, higher levels of indebtedness, especially if unsustainable – i.e. not supported by
proportionate income generation, is harmful for the household in the long run. The average
loan size for the target and control group is Rs. 7906 and Rs. 2967 respectively.
ECONOMIC FACTORS: Income changes, Vulnerability Reduction, Asset
Growth, Outcome level of enterprises
INCOME CHANGES
Change in income as compared to
previous years
65% of the target group reported an
increase / large increase in their
incomes over last year as compared
to 43% of the respondents from the
control group.
Even if we assume that this reported increase in income is not directly caused by VAMA’s
loan, we can see that there is increased confidence and optimism about their household
incomes over last year.
The average annual household income is considerably higher for the target group, so is the
per capita income of their households.
Average annual
household Income
(Rs.)
Average annual household
income per person (Rs.)
Target Group 183441.38 38668.95
Control Group 144119.05 36490.79
Difference 39322.33 2178.16
2
14
33
43
53
43
12
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Target Group
Control
Group
Decrease No change Increase Large Increase

14. 13
VULNERABILITY REDUCTION
Diversifying income and vulnerability reduction
In the Bundelkhand region, there is a period of
drought every two to three years. Hence,
income from farming is vulnerable in these lean
years. Income from other sources in these rural
households becomes especially important. Even
in urban households, an extra source of income
reduces vulnerability to shocks such as the
bread-earner falling ill. 63% of the target group
households have more than one source of
income, while only 40% of the control group falls
in the same category.
Sector of activity
Most of workers from both groups are either wage earners or work in the construction
industry. Some of the most popular occupations are constructing roofs, sewing and trading
(small kirana stores).
ASSET ACCUMULATION AND GROWTH
The difference in asset accumulation of the target and control groups is most significant in
assets of modest value (radio, cycle, chair/table, gas/stove, bed with frame), less significant
in assets of moderate value (fridge, TV, Motorcycle) and almost negligible in assets of high
value (car / pickup truck, tractor). One of the limitations of the survey was not recording
other assets such as cell phones, coolers etc, which were more common to these
households than bed with frame and radios.
12.4%
12.4%
2.7%
2.7%
5.3%
5.3%
0.9%
11.5%
5.3%
22.1%
7.1%
2.7%
9.7%
7.8%
12.5%
1.6%
7.8%
1.6%
14.1%
4.7%
18.8%
7.8%
3.1%
20.3%
Sewing
Trade / Store
Food Processing / Vending
Handicrafts
Farming
Livestock
Personal Services
Mechanic
Carpentry
Wage earner / Construction
Office work
Transport
Others
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0%
Control
Group
Target
Group
37
60
35
29
21
11
7
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Target Group
Control Group
Single source Two sources Three sources Four sources

15. 14
For the target group, 41%
of the assets of modest
value, 50% of assets of
moderate value and 33%
of assets of high value
were acquired when they were a member of VAMA Microfinance.
Use of loan by target group
The loan amounts are not large enough to start certain kinds of enterprises but do help in
starting microenterprises such as bangle shops, chaat stalls, broom making, sewing. For
bigger enterprises, such loans help in getting working capital for the enterprise.
Household Expenses
Most respondents from the target group and the
control group quoted food as the most important
household expense. For the target group, the
second main priority was school expense followed
by clothes. For the control group, the second
highest expense was clothes followed by school
expenses.
Moderate
Value
Modest
Value
High Value
Target Group 2.45 / 5.00 1.95 / 3.00 0.03 / 3.00
Control Group 1.75 / 5.00 1.46 / 3.00 0.05 / 3.00
22%
14%
20%
2%
13%
9%
7%
12%
0%
26%
19%
17%
4%
13%
6%
4%
11%
1%
Food
Clothes
School Expenses
Health-Related Cost
Household Items
Reinvest in enterprise
Savings
Others
Don't Know
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Control Group
Target Group
25%
10%
26%
7%
32%
Sector-wise use of loan from VAMA
Commercial /
trading/ retail
Manufacturing
Service
Agriculture
Non-income
generating
expenditure
13%
8%
6%
27%
30%
5%
6%
5%
Use of loan from VAMA
House maintenance
and repair
Build latrine /
washroom or house
extensions
Start a new business
Materials for
existing business
Machinery/Capital
for existing business
Marriage, Hospital
and other
expenditures

16. 15
Impact of Investment
The analysis of investment impact shows
that majority of VAMA borrowers
perceived a positive impact on their
investment. The impact mainly shows in
terms of increase in income and savings.
65.5% of the respondents have noticed
an increase in their income and 70.7%
noticed an increase in their savings.
SOCIO-POLITICAL/CULTURAL FACTORS
Change in Power Relationships (Status Position)
One of the most positive impacts observed in the target group is the shift in economic
decision making in the household from men to women or to joint decision making. It was
also observed that women in the target group were significantly more forthcoming and
confident in their conversations with the interviewer and other figures of authority.
Client Feedback
Client Likes (%)
46.6% of the clients are most satisfied
with VAMA’s low interest rates. 39.7%
think that VAMA’s microcredit is a
steady source of capital and 34.5%
think that other financial services such
as savings account, insurance, etc. are
benefitting them.
Others include disbursement of loan on
time, customer services and collection
at home.
65.5%
70.7%
25%
14.1%
28.1%
6.3%
25.0%
Increase in
Income
Increase in
Savings
Expanded
size of
business
Added
new
products
Improved
quality of
products
Reduced
costs by
buying in
greater
volume
Developed
a new
enterprise
46.6%
39.7%
3%
10.3%
34.5%
12.1%
22.4%
14%
Lower
Interest
Rates
Steady
source of
working
capital
Group
dynamics
Training or
assistance
Other
financial
services
Easier
guarantees
than loan
alternatives
Others Don't
Know

17. 16
3.4%
17.2%
3.4% 3.4% 1.7%
12.1%
53.4%
13.8%
High
interest
Size of
loans too
small
Loan
cycle too
short or
long
Meeting
frequency
too often
or
meetings
too long
Forced
savings or
insurance
Others Nothing Don't
know
Client Dislikes (%)
53.4% respondents are completely satisfied with
VAMA with no dislikes.
17.2% clients felt that the initial size of the loan
was too small and could be increased.1.7%
clients felt that financial services of savings and
insurance were forced on them.
D. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS
Conclusion
VAMA’s microfinance initiative has a positive impact on the household, individual and
enterprise levels of women clients. The following is the analysis of our findings from the
survey:
Recommendations
Based on our findings from this report and our observations from field visits, the following
actions can be considered to improve VAMA’s Microfinance Program.
Performance Management System
Rationale: It was observed that Field officers were able to meet the group formation targets
easily and there was no incentive for them to improve their performance.

18. 17
Solution: Establish Key Performance Indicators (such as number of new groups formed;
collection time) for Field Executives and provide additional incentives such as increments in
salary etc based on these indicators. This would arrest the high rate of attrition in the
organization, especially at the lower levels. Also, it would motivate the field executives to
reach out to more clients, and improve the overall client experience and lifetime value.
Business Development Services
Rationale: It was found that some of the clients of VAMA MF had no knowledge of savings
and insurance.
Solution: Currently, VAMA leverages on its brand (developed through the ongoing social
development programs in the area). Some existing programs such as Financial Literacy
modules can also be offered to existing clients to strengthen the overall microfinance
program.
Document Management System
Rationale: Some of the key documents of the organization such as the business
development plan and the operations manuals have several contradictions and
discrepancies in the data.
Solution: Information such as target number of clients and new processes need to be
communicated in a consistent and clear manner. As such, all documents need to be
regularly updated with key information and other data points such as “Last updated”,
“Prepared by” and “Reviewed by” needs to be included.
Outreach and Increase of loan amount
Rationale: For two decades VAMA has been operating in the Gwalior-Chambal region.
Some clients were not satisfied with the size of loan.
Solution: The results of this survey showed that 32% and 21% of the target group and
control group respectively received credit from sources other than VAMA MFI. VAMA should
increase its efforts to reach out to clients and to increase the loan amount given to individual
clients.
Development of new products
Rationale: VAMA has a very large client base. The clients are reporting an increase in
savings and income. VAMA does not have a wide portfolio to address the needs of the
clients.

19. 18
Solution: As per the survey 65.5% of the clients reported increase in their income and 70.7%
reported increase in savings. Therefore, there is a need for development of new products
such as savings, insurance, leasing, money transfers, etc.
VAMA should conduct feasibility studies on the insurance and leasing products development.
With the development of new products, VAMA also needs to broaden its current product
(microcredit).
Enhancing of operational capabilities
Rationale: The growth rate of clients is low and the staff is not prepared to handle the
introduction of new products.
Solution: In order to increase client volumes, to manage larger loan portfolios and to
introduce new products, VAMA’s operational capabilities have to be enhanced. To allow for
competitive pricing, the current cost structures have to be optimized. Training of staff on MIS
is also required.
E.SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROJECT WORK
1. Designed impact survey questionnaire by using AIMS (Assessing the Impact of
Microenterprise Services) – SEEP (Small Enterprise Education and Promotion)
Network Manual.
2. Surveyed 40 women in the around 20 urban slums and villages in and around
Gwalior and Morar district
3. Designed a survey for social security as required by VAMA. The social development
programs staff was not competent enough to design the survey.
4. Accompanied the branch manager during the activities of group formation, collection,
field investigation, group training, group recognition test, etc.
5. Addressed women as a guest of honor at International Women’s Day program in
Raura village.
6. Designed MFI survey form and took the input of VAMA about the organisation.
7. Interviewed Asha trainees at Datia district
8. Interviewed a group of 20 women who attended the financial literacy program at
Berja and Dabra villages.
9. Interviewed Badami Bai for making the case study and to know the effect of MF on
her life. The audio of the interview can be found in Appendix-D.
10. Delivered a Presentation on the impact survey result to Mr. Dr. I. V. Ramanuja Rao,
Programme Director, INBAR, Mr. Bharat Parekh, Programme Officer, INBAR and
many NGOs from in and around Gwalior.

20. 19
APPENDIX

21. 20
Appendix-A
Abbreviations
BMVS Bal Mahila Vikas Samiti
BOI Bank Of India
CASA Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action
INBAR International Network for Bamboo and Rattan
JLG Joint Liability Group
MFI Microfinance Institutions
MF Microfinance
MIS Management Information System
NABARD National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
NGO Non-government organization
SDP Social Development Programs

22. 21
Appendix-B
Network Agencies
Financial Institutes
NABARD– National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
Oikocredit Investing in People
Maanaveeya Development & Finance Private Limited
FWWB
SIDBI
BANKERS
State Bank of India
ICICI Bank
IDBI Bank
Indian Bank
NETWORKS
Planet Finance
CRISIL Ratings
Sa-Dhan – The Association of Communication Development Finace Institutions
BIRD
SMERA – SME Rating Agency of India Ltd.
RBS – The Royal Bank of Scotland withMICRO-SAVE
Savvy Solutions – An efficient & Effective Software Solution
Indian School of Microfinance for Women
VANI (Voluntary Action Network of India)
CREDEBILITY ALLIANCE OF INDIA
Madhyanchal Forum, Bhopal
AFPRO – Action For Food Production
PRIA – Society for Participatory Research in Asia
M.P. Voluntary Health Association

23. 22
FUNDING AGENCIES
CASA
NEG FIRE – New Education Group Foundation for Innovation and Research in Education
Caritas India
IGSSS
Care – Defending dignity Fighting poverty
Government of India Ministry of Health Family Walfare
Canadian International Development Agency
PACS – Our rights Our voice
NABARD
THE SAMDASANI FOUNDATION
GOONJ

24. 23
Appendix-C
References
1. Microfinance India - State of the sector report 2011
2. Microfinance Impact Assessment and Market Research Survey-UNRWA –
Microfinance Department – Syria
3. M-CRIL Microfinance Review 2012: MFIs in a Regulated Environment
4. Microfinance Market Survey in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip conducted by
Planet Finance
5. Microfinance And Poverty Alleviation: An Impact Assessment Survey By RBS
Foundation India
6. VAMA Annual Report 2012
7. CRISIL Microfinance Grading Report-VAMA, August 2009
8. CRISIL Microfinance Grading Report-VAMA, August 2009
9. SMERA MFI rating report-VAMA, September 2010
10. Learning from Clients: Assessment Tools for Microfinance Practitioners, The SEEP
Network

25. 24
Appendix-D
Tools for data collection
Tool File
Microfinance Impact Assessment Survey
Vama Survey_1.pdf
Social Security Survey
Social Security
Questionnaire.pdf
Asha Questionnaire
Audio of the interview with Ms. Badami
Survey data
VAMA Input
FINAL.xlsx

26. 25
Appendix-E
Contact details of people and organizations interacted with during DOCC project work
Sr. No. Name Designation & Organization
1 Indra Bhushan Verma CEO, VAMA
2 Nilofer Khan COO, VAMA
3 Sarvesh Dhingra Finance Manager, VAMA
4 Deepak Malhotra Branch Manager, VAMA
5 Shanno Khan ABM, VAMA
6 Madan Kushwaha ABM, VAMA
7 Dr. I. V. Ramanuja Rao Programme Director, INBAR
8 Bharat Parekh Senior Programme Officer, INBAR
9 Narayan Singh Rana Branch Coordinator, Bank of India

27. 26
VAMA (Bal-MahilaVikasSamiti)
9-C, MaharanaPratap Nagar,
Near Jiwaji Club,
Gwalior- 474009 Madhya Pradesh,
INDIA Telephone: +91-751 2457438
Email: bmvs1988@yahoo.co.in
vama1988@rediffmail.com
Website: www.vama.org.in