Natural calamities and its aftermath — how it impacts the rural economy, especially those who are trying to come out of poverty, using MFI loans


The surety of a better life, brought forth by loan from a MFI for an economically backward rural household, is usually guaranteed, when mixed with the enterprise and hard work of a budding entrepreneurial woman. But even best-laid plans sometimes face severe obstacles in the form of natural disasters like flood, drought or cyclone. The impact of a natural disaster, however, is rarely the same across households even in the same locality. Natural disasters impact the finances of poor households in a harsh manner, even more so in the case of a borrower’s family, who has been working hard to uplift the household to a stronger financial situation.
While all households are affected by a flood or a devastating cyclone, the one that has borrowed MFI money and is working towards a goal, is often more severely impacted because the stakes are higher for them than a family with no loan to see through or take care of a business.
The first and most tangible effect of a disaster is the household’s inability to generate income while surviving the disaster. This is simply because under such circumstances or even during the aftermath, it is difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to get in touch with customers.
There are also chances of a reduced demand for the product or service the entrepreneur offers. Destruction of trading stock is another body blow, replacement for which could be unavailable due to the existing conditions and even due to lack of funds. Disasters usually lead to increased expenditure for most households due to higher prices of essential commodities like food and fuel, owing to a disruption in the demand-supply chain. Finances are also affected due to injuries or sickness of the entrepreneur or someone in the family could have suffered due to the disaster, besides undergoing destruction or damage to assets like tools of the trade, a workshop, or a shop.
We have noticed that while most poor households make adjustments to cope economically after a natural disaster, those running businesses with loan from MFIs, suffer more because they usually have more to lose, in terms of not just assets and capital but also confidence and energy.
However, even under these circumstances, what surprises us is the intention of repayment of loans that the suffering entrepreneur has borrowed from us. As a token of appreciation from Village Financial Services, we make it our priority to support our borrowers who has suffered loss of productive assets leading to a long-term impact on the ability of the entrepreneur to generate income.

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