FAQs

Microcredit

What is Microcredit?

Microcredit refers to small size loans that are collateral free and are lent to low income households to meet their working capital needs. Typically, the loan size varies from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 15000. These loans are usually utilised for income generation activities. The borrower then repays the loans according to a preset repayment plan. For more details, you can read our About Microcredit page.

How can Microcredit make a difference?

Microcredit provides the much needed financial stability that is needed in many low income households in Indian villages, semi urban and urban areas. It gives them the opportunity to access finance at reasonable rates of interest and provides a healthy and sustainable alternative to the local money lender.

An example : Pampa Bai and her husband Dhanua run a grocery shop in their locality. Pampa Bai ensures smooth operations and maintains records meticulously. She realizes they can earn better if they offered new items for sale, but they lack the spare funds required for such an expansion. So she has applied to Rang De for a loan. The couple hope to earn an additional Rs. 900 each month after putting the loan to use.

Like Pampa, there are tens of thousands of people across India who want to make a beginning towards financial independence. And microcredit provides the means to achieve this independence.

How does traditional microfinance work?

Traditionally microfinance institutions borrow capital from the banks at a fixed rate of interest of 5.5% to 8.3% (or 10% - 12% diminishing rate of interest) and the MFI (microfinance institution) then adds the cost of servicing the loan before disbursing the loan to the borrower. Thus the interest paid by the borrower of microcredit ranges from 13.5% - 20% fixed rate of interest (or 24% - 36% diminishing rate of interest) depending on the cost incurred by the MFI for servicing the loan.

What is an MFI?

An MFI is a Microfinance Institution. Most MFIs are non governmental organisations registered as trusts or societies. Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services. More broadly, it is a movement whose object is "a world in which as many poor and near-poor households as possible have permanent access to an appropriate range of high quality financial services, including not just credit but also savings, insurance, and fund transfers." Those who promote microfinance generally believe that such access will help poor people out of poverty.

About Rang De

I'm confused, Whats this initiative about?

Rang De is a web based social initiative that supports rural entrepreneurs from low income households by providing access to low cost microcredit. We aim to address credit needs for business and education of the low income households we reach out to. Rang De microcredit for business and education is funded by individuals and corporate social investors.

What's the difference between the Rang De model and traditional micro-finance?

Rang De is an innovative attempt to bring down the cost of microcredit by enabling individuals to lend small sums of money via our online portal (www.rangde.org). The main difference between Rang De and traditional microfinance is Rang De's focus on its mission to lower the interest rate and its fund raising model. By raising social investments from individuals, Rang De is able to bring down the cost of microcredit and offer loans to people at rates that were once unthinkable.

Is Rang De a non-profit organisation?

Yes, we are and we will always be. Read more about our organisation structure.

How is Rang De different from other peer-to-peer lending models?

Rang De leverages the internet and the peer to peer model to lower the cost of microcredit. We ensure that we make good use of getting low cost capital from social investors and transfer the benefit to the end user. Our interest rates to the end user ranges from 6%flat p.a. to 10% flat p.a.

Interest rates that the borrower pays for every loan product is published on the website. Rang De's field partners are not allowed to charge documentation charges or loan processing fees.If these come to light, depending on the severity, the partnership is either terminated or suspended. And yes, we do believe that just like there can be good stories, there are distress stories as well - both of which are shared with social investors.

What is the interest rate breakup on the loan products that Rang De offers?

The interest rate breakup of borrower repayments (in flat rates) for each of our loan products is shown below.

Loan Product	Field Partner	Rang De	Social Investor	Contingency	Total (flat)	Total (APR)*
Business	5.00%	1.00%	2.00%	0.50%	8.50%	15.33%
Education	4.00%	1.00%	-	-	5.00%	9.02%
Microventure	3.00%	2.00%	4.00%	1.00%	10.00%	17.97%
*APR interest rates are calculated on a monthly repayment schedule.

The interest rate breakup of the yield to each stakeholder (in APY) for each of our loan products is shown below.

Loan Product	Field Partner	Rang De	Social Investor	Contingency	Total (APY)*
Business	9.02%	1.80%	3.61%	0.90%	15.33%
Education	7.27%	1.82%	-	-	9.02%
Microventure	5.39%	3.59%	7.19%	1.80%	17.97%
*APY interest rates are calculated on a monthly repayment schedule.

Investing on Rang De

What is the minimum and maximum investment?

The minimum investment amount is INR 100 and the maximum investment amount can be anything the investor is willing to invest. A social investor can invest to fulfil the loan amount for a borrower or split their investments amongst multiple borrowers.

Where can I track progress on my investment?

As a social investor, you can login to your account using your email address registered on RangDe.Org. Once you login, you can access the repayment progress made by all your borrowers. You will also receive a statement of social investments on a monthly basis from our team.

How do I make a social investment?

You can make a social investment in borrowers of your choice by following the steps below :

1. View our borrower listing and enter the amounts you would like to invest in borrowers of your choice.
2. Review your selection and continue
3. Choose whether you want to contribute your return on investment and/or make a donation to Rang De
4. Make a payment towards your social investment using Rang De credit or your preferrred payment option.

You can also make a quick investment where you can enter the amount you would like to invest and the system will select borrowers on your behalf by following the steps below :

1. Enter the amount of your choice.
2. Choose your preferences by selecting the "Select borrowers using my preferences" option or let the system choose borrowers on your behalf by selecting the "Select borrowers using Rang De's preferences" option
3. Choose whether you want to contribute your return on investment and/or make a donation to Rang De
4. Make a payment towards your social investment using Rang De credit or your preferrred payment option.

What is Quick Invest?

The quick invest option allows you to make a social investment without choosing individual borrowers. You will be prompted to set your preferences based on which the system will allocate your funds to borrowers. In case, there are no borrowers meeting your preference, the system will allocate it when there are borrowers of your preference.

Are social investments on Rang De exempt from Tax?

No. Only donations made to Rang De for its operations are exempt from tax

Are social investments on Rang De treated as donations?

Social Investments on Rang De are different from donations as the investors get back the principal invested along with a nominal financial return when the borrowers pay back their loan. Even though the financial return is nominal, the social return is phenomenal.

What is my return on social investment?

You will earn an interest of 2.0% flat p.a. (3.5% APY) on your investment to borrowers of business loans. Your interest is calculated from the day the loan is disbursed to the borrower. This typically will be around a month's time from the date of investment.

Will a social investor get a receipt for payment on making a social investment?

When you make a social investment on Rang De, you will receive an email notification confirming all the details of the social investment. You will receive email notifications for all online transactions that you make on the website. Please get in touch with us if you do not receive these updates.

How will I know that my investment has reached the concerned borrower?

On the day the loan is disbursed, you will receive an e-mail with the details of the disbursement. This typically happens within 5 days after the Invest by Date (the date by which we will raise investments for borrowers).

Is my investment and return assured?

Any social investment made via Rang De is for an unsecured loan for a low income household. Your investment and return are not assured. We recommend that you invest smaller sums of money across borrowers in different geographies to de-risk your self.

What will be the mode of repayment to the social investors?

When the loan matures (the loan is completely repaid by the borrower) you will receive an e-mail informing that the loan has been fully repaid. You will have two options: either to reinvest the money or opt to withdraw it to your bank account. In case of the latter the you will have to provide the details of your bank account and Rang De will make an online transfer. Withdrawals can only be made to a bank account in India.

In what time will I get my social investment repaid?

You will get back your entire social investment at the end of the loan tenure (typically 1 year or 2 years) with a return of 2.0% flat p.a. (3.5% APY) provided there is no default. However your principal plus interest is repaid as equated monthly installments. So, you do not really have to wait until the end of the loan tenure.

What are the payment options I can use to complete my social investment?

If you are an Indian National Living In India, you can use the following payment options to complete your social investment

• Credit/Debit Cards - MasterCard, Visa and SBI ATM-Cum Debit Cards
• Netbanking
• • ICICI Bank
  • State Bank of India
  • Axis Bank
  • IDBI Bank
  • Union Bank of India
  • Punjab National Bank (Retail and Corporate Accounts)
  • HDFC Bank
• NEFT Transfer to our bank account after completing your social investment
• Drop a cheque at an ICICI, HDFC or HSBC ATM in India

If you are an Indian National Living abroad, you can use the following payment options to complete your social investment

• MasterCard and Visa Credit Cards of any currency
• Netbanking
• • ICICI Bank
  • State Bank of India
  • Axis Bank
  • IDBI Bank
  • Union Bank of India
  • HDFC Bank
  • Punjab National Bank (Retail and Corporate Accounts)

"Please note that Rang De has a special arrangement with its Payment gateway provider, under which you will NOT be charged any foreign transaction fee."

What is the invest by date?

For every loan borrower who applies for a loan, there is a waiting period of 30 days during which the loan amount needs to be raised. The invest by date indicates the cut off date by which social investors need to make investments to the borrower.

Why does the borrower pay 8.5% flat p.a.(15.33% APR) when the social investor only gets a return of 2% flat p.a. (3.5% APY)?

As a social investor, Rang De gives you the same return that you would earn on your savings bank account. The 8.5% flat p.a. which is paid by the borrower is split among the field partners, social investors, Rang De and fund for contingencies. The social investments that you make are received by Rang De's field partners who are responsible for identifying borrowers, disbursing loans and collecting repayments. The Field partner incurs expenses and the 5% is just enough to manage these costs. Rang De gets 1% flat on every loan for its operational costs and 0.5% is kept aside for contingencies.

What happens to the borrower if the loan is not completely raised in the time it was supposed to be raised?

In situations where the loan is not completely raised within the speculated amount of time, Rang De uses its Corporate CSR funds to fulfill the balance amount left to be raised.

Auto Invest

What is auto invest?

Auto invest is a feature that allows you to automatically invest your Rang De Credit. You can turn it on in your settings page.

How often will my Rang De Credit automatically get reinvested?

If you have selected the auto invest option, your Rang De Credit will be reinvested every Thursday between 6:00p.m. and 12:00a.m. IST subject to the availability of borrowers according to your preferences.

Will I get notified once an investment is made?

Yes.

Rang De Gift Cards

How can I redeem a Rang De gift card to complete my social investment?

You can redeem a Rang De gift voucher while making your payment. You can follow the steps below to help you :

• View our borrower listing and enter the amounts you would like to invest in borrowers of your choice.
  
• Review your selection and continue
  
• Choose whether you want to contribute your return on investment and/or make a donation to Rang De
  
• In the payment options page, select the "Pay Using a Rang De Gift Card" option and enter your gift code.
  

Withdrawing from your Rang De account

What are the terms and conditions for withdrawal?

• You can withdraw the repayments that are credited into your Rang De account.
• You can only withdraw the money that you have received as repayments from the borrowers.
• The entire investment amount can be withdrawn only at the end of the loan tenure and on the condition that the borrower has repaid the loan.
• The minimum amount you can withdraw is Rs.100 (unless you do not have any outstanding repayments)
• If you have less than Rs. 100 and no outstanding repayments, then you will only be able to withdraw all of your Rang De Credit
• Withdrawals can only be made to a bank account in India.

How do I withdraw my Rang De Credit?

• Navigate to your dashboard by clicking here
• Click "Withdraw" in the dashboard header to the right side of your available Rang De Credit.
• Enter the amount of Rang De Credit that you want to withdraw and click submit after entering your account details and mode of withdrawal.

What is the process once I have placed a request for withdrawal?

We will process your request and transfer the funds to your bank account or send your cheque within 7 working days.

How will I get the withdrawal amount?

You can choose to get your withdrawal amount through a NEFT transfer or we can send you a cheque.

Are there any charges for withdrawals?

Yes, the charges are displayed in the withdrawal page under the correspoding options.

Can I withdraw my Rang De Credit to a bank account abroad?

No, we will only entertain withdrawal requests to bank accounts in India.

I have less than Rs. 100 of credit and I will not be getting any repayments. Will I be able to withdraw my remaining credit?

Yes you will. However, if your Rang De credit is less than the withdrawal charges, then you will not be able to withdraw it.

Rang De's Processes

How does the entire model work?

The model works as follows :

• (Potential) social investors can search and choose borrowers to make a social investment. You can invest as little as Rs.100.
• Rang De's field partners receive and disburse loans to their borrowers.
• Borrower repays loan according to a repayment schedule.
• You receive your money at the end of the tenure and earn an interest of 2% flat p.a. (3.5% APY)

Are the details on the borrower profile and the application details exactly the same?

We receive application forms that are KYC(Know Your Customer) compliant. The data on the application form is used to create profiles for the borrowers and uploaded on to the website. The profiles represent the data on the application form.

How long does Rang De take to do the screening?

We aim to process the application forms on a priority. They are screened and uploaded on RangDe.Org within 48 hours of receiving them from the field partners.

Where are Rang De's borrowers located?

Rang De's borrowers are from underserved communities across India. Our focus is on states where a large section of the population is not included financially and need access to microcredit.

Can I submit a borrower application for myself?

Currently, the first level of application screening is done by our field partners. We do not accept loan applications from individuals.

Why are most of the listed borrowers women?

We do not have any preference for gender. It is prerogative of field partners to identify and to work with communities of their choice. We are open to facilitating funds to men for their business needs.

Why are so many borrowers in the same occupation?

Some of the borrowers having the same occupation are members of a group of borrowers belong to same communities and at times are involved in similar activities. This is also an indicator of group homogenity. Having said that, we have facilitated funding for more than 500 types of activities.

Why are the surnames of some borrowers the same? Are they part of the same family?

At times the borrowers belonging to a particular community can have similar surnames and at times are also involved in similar businesses.

What happens incase a borrower defaults in repayments towards their Rang De loan?

If a borrower defaults on a loan due to a genuine reason (i.e. death, casualty, or a natural calamity) a part of the principal amount will be recovered from Rang De's contingency fund and the remaining portion will be borne by the social investor. In case of process violations (by Rang De or a Field Partner) the defaults (principal amount) will be met in full by Rang De or the field partner as the case may be. For more details, you can refer to our default policy and procedure document.

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Borrower Application process on the Ground

Who are the borrowers?

Borrowers of microcredit are typically people of very low income households who require working capital and credit. The investment you make as a social investor is usually towards the working capital of an individual whose occupation is farming, livestock rearing, tailoring or other micro and cottage industries, mostly run by women. You can find borrowers whom you wish to help based on specific search criteria (state and category). Alternatively you can make a quick investment (where Rang De will select the borrowers).

How are the borrowers selected?

Borrowers are selected by field partners based on their family income, their access to finance from traditional sources and other socio-economic factors. Our aim is to reach out to underserved communities, mostly first time borrowers who have never had access to microfinance before.

Evaluations

What are Rang De Evaluations?

Evaluations are post disbursal interactions with borrowers to understand how the loan has been utilised and the impact it has had for the borrower. These evaluations are done by Rang De Team members.

What happens after the Evaluations?

Evaluations are very important to everyone in the Rang De eco-system. Feedback from the evaluations is shared with the field partner as well as social investors. The field partners are expected to work on the feedback within a given time frame and communicate this to Rang De. Stories from the evaluations are shared with social investors on email.

What do we do with stories of not-so successful stories?

Evaluations are meant to report the reality as it is from the community. We share stories of hope and despair with social investors and work with our field partners to address areas of concerns. Evaluations also help the Rang De team in deciding on future course of action and intervention.

What are the different types of evaluation that are done?

We currently perform audio evaluations as well as field evaluations. Audio evaluations are done via phone conversations with the borrowers. Field evaluations are on the ground assessments done by Rang De team members by visiting and interacting with the borrowers.

What do the evaluations include?

Rang De evaluations aim to capture information beyond the loan and its impact. It covers the following areas: Loan & loan utilisation, Impact of the loan, Financial Literacy of the Borrower, Loan Process & Compliance, Degree of Indebtedness, Feedback on the Loan Representative and Feedback on the field partner. Evaluation reports are shared with Rang De field partners for them to take appropriate action and a summarised report is shared with the social investors by email.

Rang De's Field Partners

What is a field partner?

Field partners are registered non-profit organisations or a non-profit microfinance institutions that work with underserved communities. With their partnership with Rang De, they are able to help reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of the communities.

Why do we need field partners?

We work through a network of field partners identified after a thorough due diligence process. We do not lend to individuals or groups directly. Our field partners identify borrowers from communities they work with. The field partners are credible grass root level organisations and are responsible for identification of borrowers, disbursement of loans, collection of repayments. The field partners also help us during the impact assessment visits by Rang De team members, volunteers or social investors like yourself.

Why do field partners get a big portion of the interest?

Our Field Partners are responsible for identification of borrowers, disbursement of loans and the collection of repayments. The field partners also help us during the impact assessment visits by Rang De team members, volunteers or social investors like yourself.

Interest Rates

What is APR?

APR (Annual Percentage Rate) refers to the interest rate on a loan that is calculated on an annual basis. A borrower will effectively pay interest on a loan that is equivalent to the APR i.e for a loan of Rs. 1000 taken over a year the interest to be paid is Rs. 85 in the case of flat interest. However as the borrower makes each repayment, the loan amount is reducing, which means that the interest amount should reduce too. This reduction is not included in a flat interest rate. Hence the flat rate is recalculated to give an APR. Rang De's borrowers pay an interest of 16% APR (8.5% flat p.a.(16% APR) ) which is 11% less than the APRs of other MFIs world-over.

What is APY?

APY (Annual Percentage Yield) refers to the annual rate of interest received by the social investor taking into account the effect of compounding. For example if a social investor has made an investment of Rs. 1000, they will get an interest of Rs. 20 after their repayments. However after each payment they will get the divided interest on Rs. 1000 loan and not the remaining loan amount. Hence the flat rate is recalculated to give an APY. Rang De gives its social investor an APY of 3.5% (2% flat).

What is a flat interest rate?

A flat interest rate refers to the interest rate a borrower has to pay on a loan if they pay it at the end of the repayment period. Rang De charges its borrowers a flat interest rate of 8.5% flat p.a.(16% APR) i.e. for a loan of Rs. 1000 taken over a year, the amount the borrower has to pay is Rs. 1085 (Rs. 1000 for the loan and Rs. 85 as interest) divided equally over each repayment period (monthly, weekly, quarterly).