A total of 70 students attended a talk at the D.D.Kosambi Festival of ideas 2020 on 29th January 2020 from 05:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Kala Academy, Panaji. The speaker for the day was Dr. Kshama Fernandes. She is the Managing Director & CEO, Northern Arc Capital, a leading financial company in India that invests and connects under banked institutions and businesses to capital market investors.
Dr. Kshama narrated an incident as to how she started off with her journey to help the needy. She spoke about how her company works towards eradicating poverty in different States. A fascinating fact about this company is that it has 99.5% collection efficiency (loan repayment). It aims at changing the world of poor with the help of youth. The talk was followed by a Question and Answer session. She opined that environment and growth are both required for sustainable development.
Dr. Kshama explained about how her organization lends small amounts to the poor; when a large lumpsum amount is lent, people find it difficult to repay, whereas the poor repay the small amount borrowed. This ensures that they are not in a loss and it does not affect their portfolio. She further adds that ‘6 Sigma’ approach should be followed by banks i.e. If banks lend money to borrowers, they should see that it is repaid at any cost. There is one principle of lending- ‘money you give has to come back.’ When asked about who is a good borrower, she said, “The one who has the capacity to repay and intention to repay is a good borrower.”
On being asked about what she would like to teach our women, she said that her Grandfather had a great influence on her life, he had told her never to feel inferior to boys as both have a common muscle called brain which can be used to its fullest potential.
It was a great learning experience for the students who aspire to get into the lending business.
