CGAP Study on Self-Help Groups in India

Publication Date: 2007
Published by: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)
Document Type: Other (PDF)

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Brief on CGAP's two-part study examining the financial viability of SHGs

This study examines the financial viability of SHGs in India and proposes a methodology for designing SHG programs to ensure their sustainability. The study examines nine SHGs that are stronger than average to demonstrate the potential of the SHG model when it is well-executed. The study presents the following findings about well-run SHGs:

• They achieve sustainability, even when all promotion and support costs are included;
• They get adequate support from self-help promotion institutions (SHPIs) and do not mind paying for this support;
• They are successful in collecting repayments of both internal and external loans;
• They compare favorably with other microfinance models in terms of administrative costs;
• They reach very poor and marginalized clients.