Mahashakti Foundation
India
Last updated Marcy 1, 2013
Partner Description:
Mahashakti Foundation is a public charitable trust founded in 2004 to improve people’s livelihoods in the low-income state of Odisha through microfinance and development services.
The foundation was born out of a program run by Odisha’s leading NGO, the Friend’s Association for Rural Reconstruction, or FARR. Started in 1984, FARR is dedicated to mobilizing communities for human rights awareness and economic development, especially among tribal and vulnerable caste groups in the state.
Recognizing that many of these people depend on forestry trades and seasonal cashflows, FARR started offering microcredit as an alternative to exploitative informal money lenders in 1994. Ten years later, Mahashakti was created to implement an official microfinance program with the help of the CARE organization and financial support from the United Kingdom’s Department of International Development.
Today, Mahashakti operates in six of Odisha’s poorest districts. This area is considered to be the poorest region in the country, with 91% of the population residing in villages, and 39% belonging to tribal communities where the average daily income is below USD$1. Mahashakti was founded to work with these populations and empower them to address their own socio-economic, political and cultural needs.
Keeping this in mind, the organization provides micro-savings, microcredit, micro-insurance (health and life), livelihood development services, health care options, water and sanitation services, food security programs and more.
Mahashakti is currently working with 25,000 poor families through different development activities. In the last six years, it has disbursed INR 60 crores (USD$10.8 million). Its present outstanding portfolio is INR 5 crores (about USD$900,900). Its current repayment rate is 98%.
Mahashakti’s core values include:
- Honesty in all transactions with all stakeholders of the organization.
- Empathy in understanding the concerns and ideas of people inside and outside of the organization.
- Courage in finding the right solutions and outcomes to issues and problems without compromising values in the face of adversity.
- Teamwork as a means to achieve the organization’s mission and objectives by respecting one another.
- Punctuality, respecting and honoring organizational commitments within the scheduled time frame.
- Excellence in each and every sphere of organizational activity, and achieving results that are better than those already achieved.
- Communication and candor to express opinions freely and frankly without inhibitions.
- Transparency by inculcating a high degree of commitment through reporting exactly what is and is not expected of us.
Mahashakti’s operational philosophy is as follows:
1. Operational principles based on justice, mercy and humility.
2. Good governance, which is every stakeholder’s expectation.
3. Operational excellence through transparency in systems and processes.
4. Compassion for the poor and respect for individuals.
5. Human approach to business, focused on relationship building rather than short term gains.
Mahashakti has a number of high-level affiliations with financial institutions like Oikocredit, Rabo Bank, Ananaya Finance and more. It is also a member of national and international-level microfinance networks like Sa-Dhan, SAMN, AMFA, INAFI, MIX Market and CGAP.
Recently, the organization was awarded grade A on its Code of Conduct Assessment from Access Assist, a respected non-profit that evaluates and monitors financial services to the poor.
Partner Description:
Mahashakti Foundation is a public charitable trust founded in 2004 to improve people’s livelihoods in the low-income state of Odisha through microfinance and development services.
The foundation was born out of a program run by Odisha’s leading NGO, the Friend’s Association for Rural Reconstruction, or FARR. Started in 1984, FARR is dedicated to mobilizing communities for human rights awareness and economic development, especially among tribal and vulnerable caste groups in the state.
Recognizing that many of these people depend on forestry trades and seasonal cashflows, FARR started offering microcredit as an alternative to exploitative informal money lenders in 1994. Ten years later, Mahashakti was created to implement an official microfinance program with the help of the CARE organization and financial support from the United Kingdom’s Department of International Development.
Today, Mahashakti operates in six of Odisha’s poorest districts. This area is considered to be the poorest region in the country, with 91% of the population residing in villages, and 39% belonging to tribal communities where the average daily income is below USD$1. Mahashakti was founded to work with these populations and empower them to address their own socio-economic, political and cultural needs.
Keeping this in mind, the organization provides micro-savings, microcredit, micro-insurance (health and life), livelihood development services, health care options, water and sanitation services, food security programs and more.
Mahashakti is currently working with 25,000 poor families through different development activities. In the last six years, it has disbursed INR 60 crores (USD$10.8 million). Its present outstanding portfolio is INR 5 crores (about USD$900,900). Its current repayment rate is 98%.
Mahashakti’s core values include:
- Honesty in all transactions with all stakeholders of the organization.
- Empathy in understanding the concerns and ideas of people inside and outside of the organization.
- Courage in finding the right solutions and outcomes to issues and problems without compromising values in the face of adversity.
- Teamwork as a means to achieve the organization’s mission and objectives by respecting one another.
- Punctuality, respecting and honoring organizational commitments within the scheduled time frame.
- Excellence in each and every sphere of organizational activity, and achieving results that are better than those already achieved.
- Communication and candor to express opinions freely and frankly without inhibitions.
- Transparency by inculcating a high degree of commitment through reporting exactly what is and is not expected of us.
Mahashakti’s operational philosophy is as follows:
1. Operational principles based on justice, mercy and humility.
2. Good governance, which is every stakeholder’s expectation.
3. Operational excellence through transparency in systems and processes.
4. Compassion for the poor and respect for individuals.
5. Human approach to business, focused on relationship building rather than short term gains.
Mahashakti has a number of high-level affiliations with financial institutions like Oikocredit, Rabo Bank, Ananaya Finance and more. It is also a member of national and international-level microfinance networks like Sa-Dhan, SAMN, AMFA, INAFI, MIX Market and CGAP.
Recently, the organization was awarded grade A on its Code of Conduct Assessment from Access Assist, a respected non-profit that evaluates and monitors financial services to the poor.
Repayment Performance on Kiva
Repayment Performance on Kiva| This Field Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Start Date On Kiva | Aug 15, 2012 | Oct 12, 2005 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Loans | $168,600 | $426,347,875 | |
| Amount of Raised Inactive Loans | $0 | $232,675 | |
| Number Of Raised Inactive Loans | 0 | 211 | |
| Amount of Paying Back Loans | $168,600 | $94,105,575 | |
| Number Of Paying Back Loans | 96 | 101,728 | |
| Amount of Ended Loans | $0 | $332,009,625 | |
| Number Of Ended Loans | 0 | 435,163 | |
| Delinquency Rate | N/A | 1.97% | |
| Amount In Arrears | N/A | $1,188,111 | |
| Outstanding Portfolio | N/A | $60,351,625 | |
| Number of Loans Delinquent | N/A | 9,474 | |
| Default Rate | N/A (See Note) | 0.97% | |
| Amount of Ended Loans Defaulted | N/A | $3,220,059 | |
| Amount of Ended Loans | N/A | $332,009,625 | |
| Number Of Ended Loans Defaulted | N/A | 9,823 | |
| Currency Exchange Loss Rate | N/A | 0.02% | |
| Amount of Currency Exchange Loss | N/A | $77,435 | |
| Refund Rate | 0.00% | 0.95% | |
| Amount of Refunded Loans | $0 | $4,068,925 | |
| Number Of Refunded Loans | 0 | 4,589 |
Loan Characteristics On Kiva
Loan Characteristics On Kiva| This Field Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Loans To Women Entrepreneurs | 100.00% | 74.03% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Loan Size | $395 | $407 | |
| Average Individual Loan Size | $375 | $646 | |
| Average Group Loan Size | $1,832 | $1,744 | |
| Average Number Of Entrepreneurs Per Group | 4.6 | 8 | |
| Average GDP Per Capita (PPP) in Local Country | $2,900 | $3,346 | |
| Average Loan Size / GDP Per Capita (PPP) | 13.62% | 12.17% | |
| Average Time To Fund A Loan | 1.19 days | 4.68 days | |
| Average Dollars Raised Per Day Per Loan | $333.19 | $86.89 | |
| Average Loan Term | 41 months | 9.61 months |
Journaling Performance on Kiva
Journaling Performance on Kiva| This Field Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Total Journals | 1 | 203,655 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journaling Rate | 0.00% | 39.98% | |
| Average Number Of Comments Per Journal | 0.00 | 0.11 | |
| Average Number Of Recommendations Per Journal | 0.00 | 2.72 |
Borrowing Cost Comparison (based on 2011 data)
Borrowing Cost Comparison (based on 2011 data)| This Field Partner | Median for MFI Peers in Country | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Portfolio Yield | 22.50% | 24.20% | 35.02% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profitability (Return on Assets) | -1.4% | 0.8% | -0.38% | |
| Average Loan Size (% of Per Capita Income) | 8.30% | 9.60% | 46.53% |
Country Fast Facts
Country Fast Facts- Country:
- India
- Capital:
- New Delhi
- Official Language:
- English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language
- Population:
- 1,095,351,995
- Avg Annual Income:
- $2,900
- Labor Force:
- agriculture 60%; services 23%; industry 17%
- Population Below Poverty Line:
- 25%
- Literacy Rate:
- 59.5%
- Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000):
- 54.63 deaths
- Life Expectancy:
- 64.72 years
Field Partner Staff
Bimal kanta PandaBikram kesari Patra
Jugal Kishore Pattanayak
Arun Kumar Pattnayak
Rama Ballav Pattnayak
Simanchal Pattnayak
Ruby Tripathy