Page 12 - A Case Study on The Value of Engaging Women in the Energy Provisioning Process
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The Value of Engaging Women in the Energy Provisioning Process
evidence suggests that sustainable development strategies that do not promote gender equality and
the full participation and empowerment of women and girls will not succeed (ECREEE 2014).
Microfinance is a mechanism that does not only have an effect in matters relating to the fight
against poverty in the strict sense. It may also serve to push ‘empowerment’—amongst the poorest of
the poor, namely women. Through its contribution to women’s ability to earn an income, microfinance-
based programmes can potentially initiate a series of ‘virtuous spirals’ of economic empowerment,
increased well-being for women and their families, and wider social and political empowerment.
Women have also more often proved to be better savers than men, better re-payers of loans, and
more willing to form effective groups to collect savings and decrease the delivery costs of many small
loans. Targeting women therefore improves the financial sustainability of microfinance programmes
(ADA Dialogue 2007).
In working with the self-help groups of Shramik Bharti, this is precisely what was intended and to
a large extent achieved. With a healthy history of inter-loaning as a record of their creditworthiness,
ensuring access to finance for the so called ‘non-bankable’ poor became highly possible under the
model.
On the supply side, as discussed above, VLEs and ‘CEOs’ were unanimously chosen by the
group and a loan was provided to the nominee as seed capital to set up the solar charging station or to
procure raw material for cookstove manufacturing. On the demand side as well, most SHG members
took a loan from their groups to buy clean energy products and the decision of who was to be given
a loan was also collectively taken by the group—based on her requirement and repayment capacity.
Women as end users were also able to instantly acquire a solar solution against her loan from the
Shramik Bharti EE, with easy repayment installments.
TERI contributed 50 per cent of the interest component on the loan amount. This interest relief
reduced the financial burden of interest repayments for the end user and increased the rate of
loan uptake by other potential users as well. Shramik Bharti for its part relaxed certain inter-loaning
conditions as well. For example, it allowed members with existing loans to take an additional loan to
buy a clean energy product. However, for members who chose to bear the entire cost of the solar
product themselves, the Shramik Bharti EE had to be paid in full at the time of the purchase. In this
way, a cash supply was ensured and SHG inter-loaning for cash-strapped members was promoted.
As the programme scaled up, Shramik Bharti also took a loan from the local bank to provide its SHG
members with more financial credit. These loans are already in their repayment cycles and will be
cumulated for repayment as installments to the bank as well.
4.4 Women CEOs as Agents of Change
Women are caretakers of resources, their families, and their communities, and tend to invest their
earnings in the health and nutritional status of the household and in schooling for children. This means
that the effect of targeting women’s economic empowerment through access to energy and through
inclusion in its provisioning will have a greater positive impact on social and economic development,
child poverty reduction as well as human security (ADA Dialogue 2007) (ECREEE 2014). Since
women’s energy contributions are largely in the informal sector, and women are generally constrained
in their roles in the social, economic, and political spheres, they are limited in their power and
participation in making decisions regarding the development and implementation of energy policies,
mechanisms, and investments. As a result, their energy priorities, including their needs for cleaner,
12
evidence suggests that sustainable development strategies that do not promote gender equality and
the full participation and empowerment of women and girls will not succeed (ECREEE 2014).
Microfinance is a mechanism that does not only have an effect in matters relating to the fight
against poverty in the strict sense. It may also serve to push ‘empowerment’—amongst the poorest of
the poor, namely women. Through its contribution to women’s ability to earn an income, microfinance-
based programmes can potentially initiate a series of ‘virtuous spirals’ of economic empowerment,
increased well-being for women and their families, and wider social and political empowerment.
Women have also more often proved to be better savers than men, better re-payers of loans, and
more willing to form effective groups to collect savings and decrease the delivery costs of many small
loans. Targeting women therefore improves the financial sustainability of microfinance programmes
(ADA Dialogue 2007).
In working with the self-help groups of Shramik Bharti, this is precisely what was intended and to
a large extent achieved. With a healthy history of inter-loaning as a record of their creditworthiness,
ensuring access to finance for the so called ‘non-bankable’ poor became highly possible under the
model.
On the supply side, as discussed above, VLEs and ‘CEOs’ were unanimously chosen by the
group and a loan was provided to the nominee as seed capital to set up the solar charging station or to
procure raw material for cookstove manufacturing. On the demand side as well, most SHG members
took a loan from their groups to buy clean energy products and the decision of who was to be given
a loan was also collectively taken by the group—based on her requirement and repayment capacity.
Women as end users were also able to instantly acquire a solar solution against her loan from the
Shramik Bharti EE, with easy repayment installments.
TERI contributed 50 per cent of the interest component on the loan amount. This interest relief
reduced the financial burden of interest repayments for the end user and increased the rate of
loan uptake by other potential users as well. Shramik Bharti for its part relaxed certain inter-loaning
conditions as well. For example, it allowed members with existing loans to take an additional loan to
buy a clean energy product. However, for members who chose to bear the entire cost of the solar
product themselves, the Shramik Bharti EE had to be paid in full at the time of the purchase. In this
way, a cash supply was ensured and SHG inter-loaning for cash-strapped members was promoted.
As the programme scaled up, Shramik Bharti also took a loan from the local bank to provide its SHG
members with more financial credit. These loans are already in their repayment cycles and will be
cumulated for repayment as installments to the bank as well.
4.4 Women CEOs as Agents of Change
Women are caretakers of resources, their families, and their communities, and tend to invest their
earnings in the health and nutritional status of the household and in schooling for children. This means
that the effect of targeting women’s economic empowerment through access to energy and through
inclusion in its provisioning will have a greater positive impact on social and economic development,
child poverty reduction as well as human security (ADA Dialogue 2007) (ECREEE 2014). Since
women’s energy contributions are largely in the informal sector, and women are generally constrained
in their roles in the social, economic, and political spheres, they are limited in their power and
participation in making decisions regarding the development and implementation of energy policies,
mechanisms, and investments. As a result, their energy priorities, including their needs for cleaner,
12
