Milaap

Milaap
Social Enterprise
Industry Microfinance
Founded 2010
Headquarters Singapore, India
Area served
 India
Key people

Co-founders: Sourabh Sharma, Anoj Vishwanathan,

Mayukh Choudhury
Website http://www.milaap.org

Milaap is an online fund-raising platform that enables people around the world to fund and impact communities in need of basic facilities in India. Based in Bangalore, India, with its headquarters in Singapore, Milaap claims that it is the world's first[1] online microlending platform that enabled non-Indians and non-resident Indians (NRIs) to make loans to India. Milaap's loans give people access to basic needs like clean drinking water, sanitation and renewable energy, as well as skills development via vocational training which leads to jobs with steady income.

Microcredit, traditionally aimed at entrepreneurs, tends to have high interest rates because Microfinance institutions (MFIs) that fund these loans borrow from banks at high interest rates. Besides, loans for basic necessities like sanitation, drinking water and vocational training are not easily available as they need to be at low interest rates. By sourcing funds from individuals all over the world, Milaap has been able to eliminate the need for their partners MFIs to borrow from banks. Thus, the end-borrowers get to avail low-cost loans.

Milaap and its field partners (NGOs and MFIs) facilitate and disburse the loans from online lenders to the borrowers. The loans are given out to borrowers at interest rates of 12-18%[2] (50% lower than existing interest rates available to microcredit borrowers.) After the loan has been repaid, it will be returned to lenders as Milaap credits which they can either withdraw or re-lend to other borrowers. As of January 2012, working with four field partners, Milaap has raised USD $200,000 in loans and equity investment, from First Light Ventures, Unitus Seed Fund, and the Yunus Social Business Fund.

Lending

Milaap provides a list of profiles of borrowers seeking a loan, listing their background and their need for the loan. Lenders can browse through the profiles, choose who they want to lend, and using their credit or debit card, make a loan online. The amount they choose to lend starts from USD 50 or Rs 1000. Once the borrower begins to make his/her repayment, the lender can choose to re-lend the amount or withdraw it.

Origin

Anoj Viswanathan was inspired by the impact of a $10 solar lantern[3] sold on credit to the extremely poor in tribal Orissa.

Founded in June 2010 by Sourabh Sharma, Anoj Viswanathan and Mayukh Choudhury,[4] it took Milaap almost a year to gain approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to enable lenders outside India to lend to India through their website.

Projects

In March 2014, Milaap partnered with IndusLadies.com, the largest online community for Indian women to celebrate the International Women's Day. Together, they launched ‘Change a Life this Women’s Malathy JeyDay’ campaign : all community members of IndusLadies.com got the opportunity to experience making a $25 loan to a rural woman entrepreneur in India, on Milaap.org using a free gift code.[5]

Field partners

Awards and honours

References

  1. ↑ YourStory.in: Milaap becomes the world's first online platform to enable global microlending
  2. ↑ Milaap: How it works
  3. ↑ Origins of Milaap
  4. ↑ Sourabh Sharma, Anoj Viswanathan, Mayukh Choudhury, Founders, Milaap
  5. ↑ "Indian Crowdfunding Platform Milaap Partners with IndusLadies". Crowdfundinsider.com. Retrieved March 24, 2014.

External links