SEWA gets RBI approval for 3 branches

The Ahmedabad based Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) operated Shri Mahila SEWA Sahakari Bank Ltd. has got the Reserve Bank of India's approval to open three more branches in Ahmedabad city.

The RBI approval has been communicated to the bank on March 15. The work on development of these new branches will commence shortly. The bank also plans to open up its branches in smaller cities like Rajkot, Vadodara, Surat and Bhuj within a span of three years.

Jayshreeben Vyas, the managing director of the bank, told Businmess Standard, " The bank has secured approval on March 15 to set up three more branches in Ahmedabad. The new branches will be opened in Rakhiyal, Madhupura and Behrampura. We had our small centres in these three areas. But we were witnessing a major rush at these centres so we had applied to RBI to approve three more centres. Now when we have got the RBI approval we will shortly embark on the work of developing of these centres into full fledged branches."

These are the areas where maximum population is poor and women of these areas are employed in small businesses like selling vegetables.

With opening of these three new branches Shri Mahila SEWA Sahakari Bank Ltd. will have four full fledged branches operating in the city and within three years the bank will have presence all across Gujarat in the major cities.

On the future plans of the bank, Vyas said, "We plan to open more branches in smaller cities of the state within the next three years. These cities will include Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara and Bhuj. We are working in these areas for many years and we have many credit societies and Self Help Groups (SHGs) in these cities. Over the years we have seen the need of having branches at these smaller cities.

However, we need to work harder towards this area. She said, "At present we have around 3,00,000 women as clients and we have a business of more than Rs. 100 crore as on March 31, 2007."

The bank gives loans to the poor women who are self-employed and play a crucial role in the family's economic condition.

These women are usually employed as hawkers, vendors and small businesses like selling vegetable, fruit, fish, eggs and other food items, household goods and clothes.

Many of them are also engaged in Home-based works like weaving, pottery, bidi and agarbatti making, papad rolling, ready-made garment making, processing of agricultural products.