Fantastic idea

http://www.rangde.org/

About
What's in a Name?
The word /rung de/ in Hindi means to give colour. Through Rang De we hope that many of us will be able to share and spread the colours of joy with other individuals. Rang De is an attempt to bring together the India that is economically progressing rapidly and the India that has been ignored and needs all our attention. Rang De is a platform for individuals to make a sustainable difference and join a mission to alleviate poverty.

Genesis of Rang De
Living in India had prepared us to accept everything. We sure did complain about things that were not right or about the system that needed a revamp but never did anything to question the status quo. It seemed as if we had built a feeling of comfort that arose from the myth that it was a difficult to change anything in India. The same comfort began to impinge on our senses when we left India. We began to realise that bridging the gap between the developed and the developing India needed concerted efforts from everyone and we as individuals had a responsibility too.

It took a little more research for us to realise that most of the issues India faced were manifestations of a deep rooted and a multidimensional situation- "Poverty".

The quest to find a sustainable solution to poverty led us to Microcredit and the different approaches to it. This helped us crystallise our core beliefs that shaped Rang De into what it is today.

The Core beliefs that shaped Rang De are:

1. That most social issues if not all, are manifestations of poverty. Unless we address poverty holistically, our attempts will remain futile.
2. That microcredit is a sustainable means of alleviating poverty if it is affordable and can be accessed by all.
3. That charity and donations are hardly sustainable means to financial independence. In fact, it hinders an individual's spirit to fight against poverty.

Rang De's mission is to make microcredit accessible to all by lowering interest rates by doing things differently. To know how you can become a part of this mission please read further.

Why Rang De?
When we look back into our own lives, most of us realise that there were times when we faced a financial crunch. Thanks to the plastic card, the crunch was overcome almost instantly. What happens to those who do not have access to credit cards or even a bank loan for that matter? This is the situation of most low income households in lndia. Thanks to microcredit, many such people are beginning to gain access to small loans and credit. And it is our firm belief at Rang De that unless opportunities to access financial credit are provided through a holistic approach, the impact will remain insignificant.

Rang De is a unique platform for individuals to become Social Investors and connect with borrowers of microcredit by lending small sums of money.

You too can make a difference today as a Social Investor - At Rang De, a social investor is someone who can lend at least Rs.500 to an individual in need and in turn earn a nominal return as well as make a positive social impact.

Unique features of Rang De are:

1. Mission to drive down interest rates and make microcredit accessible to all. Rang De will always remain non profit to ensure this happens.
2. The only online microlending platform that does not use a payment gateway and still makes payments possible. Register and see how we make this possible.
3. 30 day loan disbursal guarantee.


How Rang De works?
Step 1. Register and become a Social Investor.

Step 2. Choose borrowers to make a social investment. You can invest as little as Rs.500.

Step 3. Rang De 's field partners receive and disburse loans to their borrowers.

Step 4. Borrower repays loan according to a repayment schedule.

Step 5. You receive a return of 3.5% on your social investment at the end of the tenure.

What's in it for Rang De?
Rang De is an initiative to make low cost microcredit a reality. By enabling individuals to become online Social Investors, Rang De hopes to bring microcredit and online lending to the forefront. Rang De is a non profit entity with the sole objective of connecting individuals who need money to social investors like you. Rang De will create a sustainable alternative to charity by promoting online lending as a way of life.

Warning: At present, international credit cards are not accepted.