Started in 2008 by Ramakrishna and Smita Ramakrishna, Rang De is a peer to peer micro-credit lending platform for micro-ventures and businesses in rural parts of India, allowing individuals to make a social investments. It currently has 18000 borrowers from 13 different states in India, and 4700 Indians who are social investors, of which 500 are Indians living in 24 different countries. Rang De has loaned over 11 crores in the last 5 years, funding over 250 unique activities ranging from agriculture, livestock, dairy, petty shops to tailoring and even bird cage making. On January 26, 2013, this platform will be opened to foreigners as well. In Part 1 of our interaction with Ramakrishna, Co-Founder & CEO, Rang De and Smita Ramakrishna, Co-Founder & Managing Trustee, Rang De, they share about the process of paying borrowers, managing default in payments, loan repayment rate and the technology used in their system. Working of Rang De’s online microcredit platfrom MediaNama: How long does it take for a lending process to start and when does the cash reach the borrowers? Rang De: Our Service Level Agreement (SLA) with all our borrowers is 35 days which means we guarantee them their money within 35 days. On the 27th day of every month, we take stock of the situation and track all the funds received during the month and by the 30th day of the month, the money is transferred to our borrowers. Sometimes, we receive the loan earlier than expected from the investors. In…
