Financial Inclusion for Female Entrepreneurs to Increase Sanitation in India’s Urban Slums

Details

In India, financial exclusion and poor sanitation are urgent social and economic development issues.  Because of economic instability, families use their scarce resources to meet basic needs, such as food and housing, and often cannot afford to regularly utilize clean, proper sanitation facilities. This increases risk of infectious but preventable diseases, such as cholera, typhoid and hepatitis. When family members fall ill as a result, they are unable to work, thus heightening economic uncertainty and pulling a family into more chronic and extreme poverty.  

This project leverages the expertise of Samagra and GDSI to develop and evaluate effective interventions that advance economic stability for families living in the poorest slums in Pune and surrounding communities. Samagra forms partnerships with municipal agencies as well as financial institutions to create a community center and a “one-stop shop” for residents.  

Using a reward model, Samagra sees community toilets as a means for user engagement to promote hygienic behavior and a hub of commerce, including services and accessibility to financial products. Samagra and GSDI hope to scale-up the program’s community-based “one-stop shops” to improve participation and usage of formal financial services and clean community sanitation facilities.  

Location

Pune, India