Where we work

South Asia
• Bangladesh
• India
◦ ASA
    ◦ CASHPOR
    ◦ CCD
    ◦ ESAF
    ◦ Grameen Koota
    ◦ SHARE
    ◦ SKS
    ◦ Sonata
    ◦ D. Ellevva's story
    ◦ Pentamma's story
• Pakistan

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Middle East / North Africa

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United States

Grameen Foundation : Where we work : South Asia : India : ASA

Activists for Social Alternatives (ASA)

Status snapshot as of December 2007
Active clients	233,652
Loan portfolio (USD)	$21,424,371
Portfolio At Risk >30 days*	0.7%
* Value of all loans outstanding that have one or more installments past due more than 30 days

Established in 1986, The Activists for Social Alternatives (ASA) is headquartered in the district of Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu, India). ASA’s mission is to “empower women of the poorest families socially, economically and politically through networking them into community institutions and efficient poverty alleviation and microfinance programs.” Initially, ASA focused primarily on community organizing, health, education, and rural development among poor women.

In 1993, S. Devaraj, ASA’s founder, introduced the Grameen-style microcredit component to the development programs of ASA. Within a short period of time, he made a strategic and policy shift to make microcredit the centerpiece of ASA’s activities and promoted “Grama Vidiyal” Trust (meaning dawn of rural poor) exclusively to carry out microfinance activities in 1997.
ASA follows the Grameen Bank methodology with slight adaptations when necessary to suit local conditions. It provides loans for income generation as well as for housing improvement, and also offers savings services to its clients, all of whom are women

Outreach:

ASA has grown from serving 551 clients in 1994 to serving more than 233,652 clients as of December 2007. Since its inception, ASA has disbursed more than $21 million in loans, and plans to reach out to approximately 400,000 clients, with a loan portfolio of $52 million by March 2010.

A February 2004 AIMS (Assessing the Impact of Microenterprise Services) assessment report on ASA clients revealed the following results:

• 80% started new income-generation activities, and the remaining clients expanded their existing economic activities;
• 95% reported increased food intake;
• 69% had purchased additional assets and improved their electric and water facilities; and
• 72% of the members in the program for two years or more had improved their housing conditions.
  

Grameen Foundation support:

Grameen Foundation has partnered with ASA since 2000, providing approximately $1 million in funding which has been used for operations, loans, and to help capitalize ASA’s transformation to a regulated financial company. More than $1 million has been leveraged from commercial banks. Grameen Foundation has also supported ASA’s tsunami relief efforts by providing $170,000 in financing, which included grant support for immediate relief operations post-tsunami and longer term support to carry out a microfinance program aimed at rehabilitating the affected population.

Learn more at: www.asadev.com/

Grameen Foundation : Where we work : South Asia : India : ASA