Towards development, beyond micro credit
Prosperous Capital & Credit Limited (PCCL) made a mark in the society not only as an emerging micro finance company but also as a socially responsible organization which is focused on improving the living standards of rural communities in many aspects through social economic development services in addition to its micro financing. This has been done by going beyond the limits of traditional micro finance services and focusing on how the social objectives could be improved via its services while covering a variety of social issues in an effective manner.
Not having proper knowledge on financial and business management has led the rural communities in an insecure status in terms of the financial aspect that also causes deterioration in their living standards. Developing micro and small enterprises is one such initiative that has been done as a solution to this issue. PCCL trains and advices its clients on managing their income properly by maintaining ledgers. Furthermore, an insurance coverage and a savings plan are provided to its clients. Other than that, we encourage our clients to develop the habit of saving. To make it more practical, clients are requested to have a compulsory saving and also maintain a minimum bank balance of LKR 1000/=. This makes these communities more confident on managing their financials and also ensures financial security.
Unemployment is a major problem that causes poverty in these rural communities and through PCCL’s services on achieving social objective has enable to solve this problem through supporting entrepreneurs to expand their businesses. PCCL provides technical knowledge and advises, that supports clients to improve their businesses. When their businesses grow, they start to employ more which results in an enhanced availability of jobs for the rural communities. This improves living standards within the entire rural community via financial stability.
Another factor is that these rural communities are being neglected without proper living facilities. Not having amenities to the standard level makes their lives insecure. Therefore as part of fulfilling social objectives, PCCL focuses on improving the living facilities of its clients that ultimately contributes on improving living standards of these communities. PCCL have an assessment on the conditions of client’s house hold assets such as the state of roofing, water supply, sanitation facilities etc. This is being done prior to loan providing and if the conditions are not at a good level PCCL advises them on how they can be improved. PCCL monitors the improvements after a year insisting them on giving some importance to such factors.
Neglecting health care is common in rural communities due to reasons such as a lack of awareness of the danger of diseases, not having access to health care etc. PCCL have taken initiations to eliminate this issue by enabling access to the health care as well as educating rural communities on the importance of taking medications. Prior to loan providing, PCCL acquires details regarding the health status of the client’s family, which enables PCCL to provide guidance and other support on health issues that the families of the clients are facing .The details includes vaccination status, Physical conditions such as whether or not they have children with psychological abnormalities or physical disabilities, whether family members are suffering from diseases etc. This process contributes on improving health care in rural communities as it prioritizes the importance of health care among these communities
Not giving enough importance to education is a main factor that has led these rural communities towards deprivation. In order to overcome poverty we have to educate the next generation well enabling them to make a decent income. Therefore as a part of PCCL’s social objectives, PCCL works on upgrading the educational levels of the rural communities. Initially, we obtain an effective analysis of the school grades of our client’s children. If the grades drop we discuss this with the kids, their parents as well as the teachers on the issue and motivate the kids to improve their grades. Other than that, we provide financial support by providing scholarships to children who are sitting for the grade 5 exam, O/L exam and the A/L exam respectively LKR 500/= , LKR 1000/=. Moreover while the government offers only LKR5000/= for university students, PCCL offers LKR 10,000/= as a backing to fulfill their education qualifications.
Another concern that the society have is the arising health problems due to the consumption of inorganic food. Hence as an element of fulfilling social objectives, PCCL promotes organic food production as well as carbon emission reduction that creates a better environment. This has been done through a number of initiatives such as Haritha Shakthi, Ruk Ropa, Haritha home gardening which encourages clients to invest on agriculture by offering green loans as well as supports them by providing technical knowledge. Jiawashakthi and Vibahwa are also such environment friendly programs by PCCL which provides green loans for rural communities to purchase solar power and bio- gas units contributing to the reduction of carbon emission
Information Extracted from:- Sustainable Profile of Prosperous Capital & Credit Limited.
