The story so far ...

Its been almost five months since Torchbearers was launched and I was looking back and seeing how much progress have I made. The progress, well is not measurable enough at the moment but I have learnt many valuable lessons.

1) I have observed people are not very open to receive help at an individual level, they suspect some kind of a 'scheme' or a hidden interest and some ulterior motive, example I being paid commission from banks :). They question why do you want to help me ? This has happened on a few occassions.

2) I also observed that a lot of people at the grassroots are looking for security and the entrepreneurial spirit is a survival mechanism. Given a choice many from this group would opt for salaried clerical or class 3 jobs in private and public organizations. They have asked me to help them get jobs -- they want stable jobs not some crappy advice :). There were two painters from Satara, Ganesh and Gyaneshwar, very enterprising guys but wanted stable jobs.

3) I have also read that many people who are recepients of micro-finance use the money to meet their immediate needs rather than start a business. A study conducted on recipients of small loans from Grameen Bank has highlighted this fact.

Well, at this time all I have to say is - I am learning and my journey continues...and there is hope :)

An opportunity and a potential beneficiary group

I was reading this article on CNN about the informal sector in Indian economy. I somehow sense a huge opportunity for Torchbearers here :

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/10/14/india.informal.economy/index.html

Annual case study competition

Dhriiti, The Courage Within, an NGO focussed on grassroots entreprenuership has announced the launch of a case study competition : http://www.dhriiti.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=24&Itemid=26