ALPs Founders
Mr Vijay Mahajan is known to the SDC since 1983, when he founded a development NGO PRADAN. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and is a Mid-Career Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson School (WWS) at the Princeton University, USA. In 1990, he co-founded and ran till 1996, an NGO, VikaSoko Inc, with two others from WWS, Geoffrey Onegi-Obel of Uganda and Thomas Fisher of the UK, to promote Indian-African development exchange. In 1996, he set up BASIX, with SDC and Ford Foundation support. Vijay was selected as one of 60 outstanding global social entrepreneurs at the World Economic Forum, Davos in 2003. Vijay is a member of the India-South Africa CEOs Forum and visited South Africa thrice, once as part of the Indian Prime Minister’s delegation. Vijay is Chair of the Executive Committee of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a consortium of 33 donors and foundations, hosted by the World Bank.
The BASIX Social Enterprise Group (www.basixindia.com) is run by Bhartiya Samruddhi Investments and Consulting Services Ltd (BASICS Ltd), the holding company of the BASIX Group, which has several entities engaged in: Banking, Micro Credit, Micro Insurance, Pensions, Remittances, Agriculture and Livestock Enterprise Development (AGLED) services, Renewable Energy and Climate Change Management, Employability and Vocational Education and Training, Information Technology applications for development, and Consultancy in all these fields. BASICS Ltd has substantial experience in running livelihood promotion programs and in institutional development that promotes exchange and innovation with other developmental and private sector actors and influences policies at the government level.
BASIX works in 24 states all over India, and has helped with livelihoods for over two million poor households since inception in 1996. BASIX implements the Livelihood Triad Strategy to provide a comprehensive set of livelihood promotion services to rural and to some extent, urban, poor households. This includes provision of inclusive financial services, agriculture, livestock and enterprise development (AGLED) services and institutional development services (IDS). In addition to its direct programs, BASIX collaborates with state government agencies. For example, on behalf of the UNDP, BASICS Ltd created and managed for seven years, the Rajasthan State Mission on Skills and Livelihoods (RMoL) – for job creation for thousands of youth, through collaborations with more than 400 institutions working in 40 RMoL projects.
Apart from its work in India, BASIX is also providing long term technical support to other microfinance institutions in Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, Fiji, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, and short term assignments in ten other countries. In Africa, BASIX has been working in Ethiopia on the UNCDF Microlead Project and has recently been invited to do the same in Cameroon and Mozambique. BASIX has also been selected by the SDC and the IFC to work with Micro Ensure in Zambia and Malawi to work on the design of weather index based crop insurance products. Earlier in the year, BASIX CTRAN completed a carbon credit assignment in Kenya for reforestation of over 5000 hectares of Aberdare Forest Ecosystem is located in Central Kenya.
BASIX Consulting Ltd. has also conducted close to two dozen study programs for professionals of about more than 20 countries around thematic areas such as microfinance, branchless banking, rural finance (including agri finance), financial inclusion, value chain management and finance, watershed management, agriculture and business development services, institutional development services, SHG-bank linkages and financial cooperative models. The close to 250 senior professionals that include people from World Bank and several National banks and governments have benefited from these exposure visits immensely.
There are two significant bottlenecks which are witnessed in the field of livelihood promotion – inadequate availability of knowledge base on how to support/ promote large number of livelihoods, and inadequate availability of trained human resources who can participate in this work effectively. To address this need BASIX set up The Livelihood School (TLS) in 2004 as an independent academic institution promoted by the BASIX group, with the mandate to build up a knowledge base on livelihood promotion and disseminate the same to practitioners for enhancing their understanding and implementation capabilities. TLS has 12 full-time faculty and nearly 50 extended faculty group. TLS has developed one-week long training modules on several themes, trained over 10,000 livelihood practitioners, documented over 150 cases of livelihood promotion by NGOs, government agencies and companies, and set up Livelihood Learning Groups around six themes. TLS was invited by the Ford Foundation to establish similar activities in those countries and it has conducted a feasibility study for this. The team interacted with organizations in Africa. The result is the possibility of incubating four Livelihood Schools – one each in South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya and Uganda, to be nested in local NGOs/institutes in the initial years.
The BASIX Social Enterprise Group (www.basixindia.com) is run by Bhartiya Samruddhi Investments and Consulting Services Ltd (BASICS Ltd), the holding company of the BASIX Group, which has several entities engaged in: Banking, Micro Credit, Micro Insurance, Pensions, Remittances, Agriculture and Livestock Enterprise Development (AGLED) services, Renewable Energy and Climate Change Management, Employability and Vocational Education and Training, Information Technology applications for development, and Consultancy in all these fields. BASICS Ltd has substantial experience in running livelihood promotion programs and in institutional development that promotes exchange and innovation with other developmental and private sector actors and influences policies at the government level.
BASIX works in 24 states all over India, and has helped with livelihoods for over two million poor households since inception in 1996. BASIX implements the Livelihood Triad Strategy to provide a comprehensive set of livelihood promotion services to rural and to some extent, urban, poor households. This includes provision of inclusive financial services, agriculture, livestock and enterprise development (AGLED) services and institutional development services (IDS). In addition to its direct programs, BASIX collaborates with state government agencies. For example, on behalf of the UNDP, BASICS Ltd created and managed for seven years, the Rajasthan State Mission on Skills and Livelihoods (RMoL) – for job creation for thousands of youth, through collaborations with more than 400 institutions working in 40 RMoL projects.
Apart from its work in India, BASIX is also providing long term technical support to other microfinance institutions in Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, Fiji, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, and short term assignments in ten other countries. In Africa, BASIX has been working in Ethiopia on the UNCDF Microlead Project and has recently been invited to do the same in Cameroon and Mozambique. BASIX has also been selected by the SDC and the IFC to work with Micro Ensure in Zambia and Malawi to work on the design of weather index based crop insurance products. Earlier in the year, BASIX CTRAN completed a carbon credit assignment in Kenya for reforestation of over 5000 hectares of Aberdare Forest Ecosystem is located in Central Kenya.
BASIX Consulting Ltd. has also conducted close to two dozen study programs for professionals of about more than 20 countries around thematic areas such as microfinance, branchless banking, rural finance (including agri finance), financial inclusion, value chain management and finance, watershed management, agriculture and business development services, institutional development services, SHG-bank linkages and financial cooperative models. The close to 250 senior professionals that include people from World Bank and several National banks and governments have benefited from these exposure visits immensely.
There are two significant bottlenecks which are witnessed in the field of livelihood promotion – inadequate availability of knowledge base on how to support/ promote large number of livelihoods, and inadequate availability of trained human resources who can participate in this work effectively. To address this need BASIX set up The Livelihood School (TLS) in 2004 as an independent academic institution promoted by the BASIX group, with the mandate to build up a knowledge base on livelihood promotion and disseminate the same to practitioners for enhancing their understanding and implementation capabilities. TLS has 12 full-time faculty and nearly 50 extended faculty group. TLS has developed one-week long training modules on several themes, trained over 10,000 livelihood practitioners, documented over 150 cases of livelihood promotion by NGOs, government agencies and companies, and set up Livelihood Learning Groups around six themes. TLS was invited by the Ford Foundation to establish similar activities in those countries and it has conducted a feasibility study for this. The team interacted with organizations in Africa. The result is the possibility of incubating four Livelihood Schools – one each in South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya and Uganda, to be nested in local NGOs/institutes in the initial years.
The founder and General Manager of PAMIGA, Ms Renee Chao-Beroff is an eminent development practitioner with 36 years of experience as a founder member of CIDR (Centre Internationale de Developpment et de Recherche) and is a member of the Executive Committee of CGAP. A lot of the financial sector work of the CIDR Groupe is done through a network Participatory Microfinance Group in Africa (PAMIGA) established in 2006, and supported by the SDC since inception. It is also offering through its Investment Vehicle, PFSA, medium term debt financing for refinancing investment projects of MFI clients.
PAMIGA (Participatory Microfinance Group in Africa) was set up in 2005, to contribute to the development and professionalization of the rural microfinance sector in Africa. PAMIGA is organized into three departments: PAMIGA Network, PAMIGA Advisory Services and PAMIGA Investments. Membership to PAMIGA Network is open to well-established, regulated and viable microfinance institutions that are serving active poor households, especially in the rural areas. Members are invited to share their experience, disseminate innovations and document best practices in rural microfinance.
As in 2011, PAMIGA Network had 15 full member MFIs with coverage of 675,000 members and it’s expected to reach out to 1 million clients by 2015. The four main pillars of PAMIGA’s support are: consolidation, technology, environmental project financing and financial education of clients. Through its investment and advisory services, and its exchange platform, PAMIGA contributes actively to the development of African MFIs and rural populations, the professionalization of the sector and supports innovation.
Through their extensive exposure and experience working very close to the field in rural and urban Africa, CIDR and PAMIGA have identified the three thematic thrusts of ALPs as key drivers for equitable and sustainable growth for many Sub-Saharan countries, among which are those chosen for phase 1. Their added values in the three areas are mainly:
Centre International de Développement et de Recherche (CIDR), is a France-based NGO, established in 1961, whose mission is to build and strengthen sustainable local, regional and national institutions that effectively serve populations and contribute to reducing poverty. CIDR has fifty years of experience in strengthening civil societies in the South, promoting professional partnerships and thematic networks and forging strategic alliances with the South, aiming at addressing the triple challenge of efficiency, social performance and governance of partner institutions as well as of its own programs, and overall participating in the elaboration of public policies and the implementation of sector-based approaches.
CIDR has been undertaking development of innovative and cost effective rural microfinance, health microinsurance, local governance and agricultural and agri-processing enterprise models across Sub Saharan Africa. CIDR is currently active in 14 countries in West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Conakry, Mali, Sénégal, Togo), Central Africa (Cameroon & Chad), East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda), and the India Ocean (Comoro, Madagascar). Such programs shall create and/or support financial and economic activities that respect the socio-cultural balance of partner population groups. CIDR works with and through a network of local partners with the objective of contributing to their development and sustainability by sharing knowledge and encouraging high professional standards.
PAMIGA (Participatory Microfinance Group in Africa) was set up in 2005, to contribute to the development and professionalization of the rural microfinance sector in Africa. PAMIGA is organized into three departments: PAMIGA Network, PAMIGA Advisory Services and PAMIGA Investments. Membership to PAMIGA Network is open to well-established, regulated and viable microfinance institutions that are serving active poor households, especially in the rural areas. Members are invited to share their experience, disseminate innovations and document best practices in rural microfinance.
As in 2011, PAMIGA Network had 15 full member MFIs with coverage of 675,000 members and it’s expected to reach out to 1 million clients by 2015. The four main pillars of PAMIGA’s support are: consolidation, technology, environmental project financing and financial education of clients. Through its investment and advisory services, and its exchange platform, PAMIGA contributes actively to the development of African MFIs and rural populations, the professionalization of the sector and supports innovation.
Through their extensive exposure and experience working very close to the field in rural and urban Africa, CIDR and PAMIGA have identified the three thematic thrusts of ALPs as key drivers for equitable and sustainable growth for many Sub-Saharan countries, among which are those chosen for phase 1. Their added values in the three areas are mainly:
- Agriculture and Value Chain Development: promotion of MSMEs in processing and marketing of agricultural produce (rice, dairy, soya, experience in Mali, Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso), linking with small farmers’ groups through contracts and provision of inputs and privately run extension services to improve productivity and incomes (CIDR EAFM in collaboration with national NGOs).
- Capacity Building and Institutional Development of Small Farmers’ Value Chain National Organizations: experience in Benin with CCRB, the rice producers’ professional association in a Food Facility enhancement program sponsored by EU. Similar experience on going in Ivory Coast (CIDR EAFM in collaboration with ETD).
- Vocational Training and MSME incubators: “Maison de l’Entreprise”, a BDS provider now locally owned and managed in Guinee (Conakri), providing youth entrepreneurship, management and marketing training for start ups and developing small businesses in regional capitals, “Centre de Développement Economique Local” a vocational training centre now locally owned and managed in Cotonou (Benin), targeting unemployed youth, linking them with 20 professional craft associations for alternate technical training and apprenticeship and assisting in job research, institutional strengthening of professional craft associations (improving organization, assisting in advocacy in legal rights and tax incentives, training of trade leaders) CIDR-AIDR.
- Financial Services: Building inclusive financial systems for underserved population in rural and urban areas, especially women and youth, experiences in promoting CVECAs and ICS in Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Madagascar, Cameroon and training local promoters through on-the-job training and management training leading to dissemination in Chad, Benin, Senegal. Technical Assistance to existing FI to strengthen their systems before expanding to rural areas or diversification to new clientele / downscaling: in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Togo and Cameroon. Product Development in Value Chain Financing, including financing MSMEs in agro-processing and marketing (paprika, banana, rice, sunflower, dairy, malt barley) in East Africa. (CIDR, MECE)
Centre International de Développement et de Recherche (CIDR), is a France-based NGO, established in 1961, whose mission is to build and strengthen sustainable local, regional and national institutions that effectively serve populations and contribute to reducing poverty. CIDR has fifty years of experience in strengthening civil societies in the South, promoting professional partnerships and thematic networks and forging strategic alliances with the South, aiming at addressing the triple challenge of efficiency, social performance and governance of partner institutions as well as of its own programs, and overall participating in the elaboration of public policies and the implementation of sector-based approaches.
CIDR has been undertaking development of innovative and cost effective rural microfinance, health microinsurance, local governance and agricultural and agri-processing enterprise models across Sub Saharan Africa. CIDR is currently active in 14 countries in West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Conakry, Mali, Sénégal, Togo), Central Africa (Cameroon & Chad), East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda), and the India Ocean (Comoro, Madagascar). Such programs shall create and/or support financial and economic activities that respect the socio-cultural balance of partner population groups. CIDR works with and through a network of local partners with the objective of contributing to their development and sustainability by sharing knowledge and encouraging high professional standards.
Mr. Sanjay Behuria has senior executive level banking experience for over 30 years. He is the Executive Director of Livelihood Basix Inc,. Ithaca, NY, USA, the US affiliate of Basix and a life-time banker, first twelve years as a development banker and later commercial banker with the State Bank of India and later with Bank of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for about ten years. He was on the Board of Basix Group's Krishna Bhima Samruddhi Local Area Bank Ltd for eight years. Sanjay has been a consultant on several international assignments for Shorebank Advisory Services and with Basix Consulting.
His specific competences are: Strategy – Internal Resource Analysis, Strategic Plan and Implementation; Banking – Product development, SME, ALM, Treasury, Risk Management, Financial Inclusion and Branchless Banking; Microfinance – Product development, Capacity building, Value Chain Financing, Access to Finance; Business Development – Building relationships across the Globe. Mr. Behuria has lived and worked in India, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE and USA. He has also delivered consulting contracts in Namibia, Palestine, Maldives, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Peru, Mexico and Bangladesh.
His specific competences are: Strategy – Internal Resource Analysis, Strategic Plan and Implementation; Banking – Product development, SME, ALM, Treasury, Risk Management, Financial Inclusion and Branchless Banking; Microfinance – Product development, Capacity building, Value Chain Financing, Access to Finance; Business Development – Building relationships across the Globe. Mr. Behuria has lived and worked in India, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE and USA. He has also delivered consulting contracts in Namibia, Palestine, Maldives, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Peru, Mexico and Bangladesh.