The Hindu Business Line : Women SHGs in the Nilgiris can bank on Repco, Exim Bank tie-up

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Women SHGs in the Nilgiris can bank on Repco, Exim Bank tie-up

P.S. Sundar

Pact will help in marketing their products globally

Coonoor June 12 Some 35,000 women members of the Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the Nilgiris under the umbrella of Repco Foundation for Micro Credit, an NGO floated by the Union Home Ministry's Repco Bank, can now look to have their products getting internationally marketed, thanks to a memorandum of co-operation (MoC) which the Repco Bank will enter into with the Exim Bank on June 15.

Mr M. Balasubramanian, Managing Director, Repco Bank, and Mr A. Venkatsubramanian, Chairman, Exim Bank, will sign the MoC.

"This is the first co-operation of its kind whereby the members of the SHGs will have access to the fairs and seminars in different countries in which the Exim Bank will participate'', Mr R. Varadarajan, Executive Director, Repco Bank, told Business Line here.

Making a mark

In the Nilgiris, these women members who had been working as pluckers in tea plantations have made a mark for themselves by leasing fields and cultivating tea and are progressing towards becoming landowners. In many cases, they earn higher returns than the general farmers.

"We see a lot of transition in their approach. We have received requests from women SHG members for giving training to them on high-level computer handling to work in call centres, maintenance of electronic products including mobile phones and TVs as also setting up of group activities like restaurants and market centres. This year, we will support these activities. Simultaneously, we will use the MoC with Exim Bank to identify the products that can be globally marketed, give international-level training to the women and physically assist them in marketing their products globally. The products manufactured by the SHGs include painted fabrics, clothes and dresses, soft toys and mushroom", Mr Varadarajan said.

Fresh loans

The Repco Foundation has been functioning in the Nilgiris for the last three years. "By now, we have disbursed around Rs 20 crore to benefit some 2,300 groups comprising some 35,000 women. In the current fiscal, we aim at granting fresh loans worth Rs 15 crore to cover 2,000 new groups ", he said.

Mr Varadarajan said that a new company called Repco MSME Co Ltd would be floated soon to take care of the requirements of micro small and medium enterprises.

"Accordingly, Repco Bank can focus on the core banking activities. We have targeted to raise the deposits to Rs 1,200 crore this fiscal from Rs 920 crore last year and advances to Rs 800 crore from Rs 680 crore. This year, we will open branches in Hyderabad, Theni, Villupuram and Udhagamandalam (extension counter). We will introduce core banking in all our branches'', he said.

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