Rang De is India's first peer-to-peer online

micro-lending :''This article is specific to small loans, often provided in a pooled manner. For direct payments to individuals for specific projects, see Micropatronage. For financial services to the poor, see Microfinance. For small payments, see Micropayme ...

platform founded in 2008. It is based in

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It connects individual social

investors An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...

to a community of curated entrepreneurs and

students A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...

from low-income households across the country, enabling them to invest in the livelihoods and education needs of this

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

History

Smita Ramakrishna and Ramakrishna NK founded Rang De in 2008 as a not-for-profit organisation to serve the credit needs of the under-served communities and low income households. In 2013, Rang De opened the platform for foreign social investors. In 2015, Rang De collaborated with OnePlus for the '' Joy of Giving Week.'' Rang De is supported by ICICI Foundation, CSO Partners, Center for Bharatiya Management Development, Association for Sustainable Community Development, and Tata Trusts. Over 93% of the borrowers are women. Rang De works with around 16 field partners across the country. On 8 March 2017, at the

Yeswanthpur Yeshwanthpur, officially Yeshwanthpura is a locality in the north western part of Bangalore in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located to the north of Malleshwara and west of Hebbala. The biggest wholesale market of agricultural produce i ...

village in

Kolar Kolar or Kolara is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar district. The city is known for its milk production and gold mines. It is also known for Someshwara temple and Kolaramma temple. History The Weste ...

, the ''Swabhimaan'' initiative was launched to impart financial literacy to village women, give customised credit, and enable them to make informed financial decisions. Self serviced kiosks called ''Bioscope'' are created to impart financial education. Bank accounts created under the

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana () is a financial inclusion program of the Government of India open to Indian citizens (minors of age 10 and older can also open an account with a guardian to manage it), that aims to expand affordable access to f ...

, eKYC,

Aadhaar Aadhaar ( hi, आधार, ādhār, lit=base, foundation, bn, আধার) is a 12-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by the citizens of India and resident foreign nationals who have spent over 182 days in twelve ...

, and

Unified Payment Interface Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an instant real-time payment system developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The interface facilitates inter-bank peer-to-peer (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. It is used o ...

(UPI) is used to disburse credit.

Concept

Rang De connect social investors with under-served communities of borrowers, enabling the low income households to get financial help. Social investors can begin by lending as low as INR 100 through the Rang De platform. It partners with non-governmental organisations and micro-lending institutions to screen borrowers at the grassroots level. The platform keeps track of disbursements and returns, which the investor can withdraw or reinvest.

Recognition

* 2011 - ''Manthan South Asia Award'' *2012 - ''Ashoka Fellowship'' * 2013 - ''Bangalore Heroes Award'' * 2013 - ''Millennium Alliance Award'' *2014 - ''Bihar Innovation Forum Award'' The Development Marketplace (DM) of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

supports Rang De.

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://rangde.in Financial services companies of India Indian companies established in 2008 Peer-to-peer lending companies Financial services companies established in 2008 2008 establishments in Karnataka Companies based in Bangalore