Bal Gopal means Little Krishna.
The Bal Gopal Bank in Gujarat is a microfinance initiative for children.
Let us understand with an example.
Shanta pays 110 rs to become a member. Her membership kit has a piggy bank which she uses to save her savings in the month. This could be money saved from pocket money, or money gifted by relatives when they visit, or any small “sale” that she organises.
Once a month, someone comes to collect and deposit this money into the Bal Gopal Co-operative Bank.
When Shanta turns eighteen, she will get her money with interest, to use in any way that she wants. It can be used to pay college fees (as it usually is), to meet a family need, or even to invest.
The bank has 17,000 members and about two to three hundred members join every month.
These 17,000 children have created a total corpus of 16 crores!!!
The bank was started by Shri Ashvinbhai Patel in 2009.
Since then, about 3,000 members have withdrawn their money.
Loans are also available – at an interest rate of 12%. But the bank lends only 50% of its total deposits at any time, so that there is enough money to pay any child turning eighteen.
A child can continue to be a member of the bank even after turning 18. But they must be between 5 and 18 years of age when they sign up.
According to the representatives we spoke to, the bank rarely sees non-payment of loans. People typically return the loan, even if they take a little longer to do so.
The bank is located at a town called Idar (district Sabarkantha) in Gujarat and provides its services to children based in and around the town.