Back to resources

Uncommon Ground – Lessons From Below

Uncommon Ground | Feb 27, 2009

Microfinance rests on mutualism. This is very different from the individualism of free markets.
Looking for models of financial prudence and sustainability? We don’t have to look very far. Tucked safely away from the scorching heat of the meltdown, at least so far, is the vastly distributed microfinance sector in India, which offers us fascinating lessons.
With an estimated 4.3 million self-help groups (SHGs) scattered across the country, with an average membership per group of 15, mostly women, and an average savings mobilization of Rs22,000, we have the world’s largest microfinance sector and certainly its most diverse.

View PDF

More like this

Uncommon Ground

Uncommon Ground - Rohini NIlekani

Rich in insights, Uncommon Ground highlights the critical importance of dialogue in our democracy to create a shared vision of the future. View PDF
Oct 15, 2011 | Book Review

Uncommon Ground

Uncommon Ground - Good Growth, Bad Growth

A question: is this economic slowdown improving the value of the environmental economy? As a family, we are not much into buying things recklessly. Although we live very well, we only buy things that we know will be used. My motherin-law and my son take this to a sort of extreme. They will only have […]
Mar 27, 2009 | Article

Uncommon Ground

Uncommon Ground - A CULTURE OF ENOUGH

Recently, Arghyam, a foundation I have set up to fund initiatives in water and sanitation, needed to hire for a senior position. We put out an ad on a mainstream jobs site, in addition to using development sector channels. To our great surprise, we were absolutely flooded with enquiries. View PDF
Jan 2, 2009 | Article

Uncommon Ground

Uncommon Ground: Path to India’s future

In 2008, Rohini Nilekani did the near-impossible by bringing sets of for profit business leaders and not-for-profit social leaders together on a TV show for focused debates on issues crucial to India’s future. Now, she has turned those discussions into her latest book, Uncommon Ground. The author-social activist-philanthropist spoke to Sangeetha Chengappa ahead of the […]
Oct 13, 2011 | Conversation