Srijan Microfinance Business Plan Competition 2008

Srijan has helped many dynamic entrepreneurs and their business plans to the limelight.
The following is a sampling of a few:

Chitrika Pondru Weavers by Vijaya Switha Grandhi (Srijan 2007)
DhanaX by Siva Prasad Cotipalli and Prashant Mishra (Srijan 2007)
Rickshaw Bank by Dr. Pradip Sharma (Srijan 2007)
Jeevika by Ashish Kumar Gupta (Srijan 2006)
People’s Action for National Integration by Jagdish Giri & Ambarish Singh (Srijan 2006)
Going Green by Samidha Sudhi (Srijan 2006)

Srijan 2007

Srijan 2007 saw 9 dynamic entrepreneurs present their plans to an esteemed panel of judges from the banking, investment and microfinance technology fields. Chitrika, which plans to provide finance to rural artisans in Andhra Pradesh, won the first prize. The second prize went to Siva Prasad Cotipalli and Prashant Mishra of DhanaX, a start up online microfinance exchange platform, while the Third Prize went to Dr. Pradip Sarmah of Rickshaw Bank.
In addition to cash prizes, the three winners, received mentoring support from Intellecap and an opportunity to meet the due diligence team of Aavishkaar Goodwell.

A conversation with Vijaya Switha Grandhi, Founder of Chitrika, after winning Srijan 2007

Please tell us something about yourself and about Chitrika.

I graduated from the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) in 2004. My interest in artisan livelihoods dates back to my field work component in IRMA in 2003 in Gujarat. After graduation I explored artisan livelihoods in Andhra Pradesh and received a fellowship from Ratan Tata Trust which helped me set up Chitrika – An artisan support organization.

Initially I explored different organizations to gain knowledge about the artisan sector, but I found that the concept of community-wide management was absent even in NGO-led initiatives. Chitrika started with the broader aim of working with artisans rather than art. Our key areas of work include Institutional Building, Financing Artisan Livelihoods, and Technology for artisans and Alternative Livelihoods.

So far Chitrika has set-up a mutually aided cooperative society of weavers in Devaravalasa village in Srikakulam. To some extent, we have also been able to provide livelihood finance services, institution building support and marketing support. Our major challenges have been raising financial and human resources to build up Chitrika and the lack of openness of existing organizations to support budding organizations.

In the coming year, we plan to reach out to one hundred artisans in Andhra Pradesh. In the long-run Chitrika envisions the creation of a learning center, an artisan-owned brand and integration of community professionals in the artisan value-chain.

What is your personal vision for artisanal livelihoods in India?

Chitrika’s vision is the creation of an “Artisan-owned Value-chain”.

The migration of artisans to other livelihoods has become an inevitable truth. Not all artisan sub-sectors are growing. In order to avoid artisans ending up in un-skilled jobs like stitching gunny bags or carrying loads, giving them the opportunity to gain alternative skills becomes crucial in coming years.

Involving the youth in artisan value-chain through integrating them into marketing, design creation and of course the craft will help in off-setting the effect of migration. Furthermore, artisans will slowly gain control over the entire value-chain.

Furthermore, in marketing, targeting the middle-class segment is essential since the “niche” approach is not sufficient to accommodate many artisans.

By turning a blind-eye to these problems, or thinking that working on alternative livelihoods is blasphemous, existing organizations will do more harm than good to the artisans. Cooperatives have become the most abused institutions. I think the cause for this reputation is not the organizational structure but that it has never been allowed to function in its true form. Any organization is susceptible to mismanagement and politics. Then why point out cooperatives alone? I think the cooperative as an institutional form works if there are no compromises made on the processes. Collectives have the power to transform the economic and social fabric in the community. We should give cooperatives their due allowing them to function in an “unregimented” way.

How will Chitrika benefit from winning Srijan 2007?

The visibility given by Srijan will to some extent showcase all the small steps taken by Chitrika, as the project idea is born out of experiences and ground work. The initiative has also provided me with a proper platform to expand ideas to the next level. I am looking forward to the mentoring support by Intellecap, the technological support by FINO and the due diligence process that will be undertaken by Aavishkaar Goodwell. All this will give Chitrika an immense opportunity to learn and grow.