Even prior to the microfinance crisis Ujjivan felt that a holistic financial literacy program was needed to educate customers on debt management.

Ujjivan and Parinaam Foundation initiated a two-pronged program customized for microfinance clients:

Sankalp, a film to build customer awareness on dangers of over-borrowing and sub-lending, followed up by Diksha, a financial training program on debt management

Over 600000 customers have already watched the film at dedicated screenings; additionally over 20 million general public has also been covered by cable television which telecast the film.

The Reserve Bank of India, International Finance Corporation, and the World Bank were all impressed by the initial response we received from customers, and expressed interest to drive and expand this program further. The progress report can be downloaded here

Mrs.Elaine Marie Ghosh, Executive Director, Parinaam Foundation was a panelist for a workshop on financial literacy training at the 5th CAB-CMF Conference organized by IFMR in Pune. This year the theme was “Translating Research into Practice".

Parinaam and Ujjivan are now in the process of developing and implementing this program faster and further through MFIN.

This financial literacy program also served as a case study in the latest State of Practice report from the Center for Financial Inclusion on Client Protection in Microfinance. It showcases the Sankalp financial literacy film as an approach to counter the dangers of over-indebtedness, which is one of the client protection principles.

“…the film produced by Ujjivan explains the concept and importance of a credit bureau, and the importance of building a positive credit history. This effort to educate clients about the concept of a credit bureau distinguished Ujjivan from its peers.”