Apani Sahakari Sewa Samiti Limited seeks to empower women living below the poverty line through the Self-Help Group loans they offer. Disbursed solely to ladies who possess the skills to begin a craft business but lack the money necessary to start up or expand their own businesses, Apani’s Self-Help Group loans comprise the vast majority of their financial operations.

After initially hearing about Apani Sahakari Sewa Samti, ladies who are interested visit Apani’s branch to learn more about the process of taking out a loan. Following this educational session, the ladies recruit other women, usually friends, family or neighbors partaking in the same craft, to form a 10-woman Self-Help Group. This group then elects a group leader who assumes the responsibility of tracking individual payments within the group as well as maintaining contact with Apani each month to pay the loan installments. After the initial Self-Help Group formation the ladies return to Apani to fill out a loan application. Once this application has been processed, Apani Samit staff travels to the homes of the women in the Self-Help Group to investigate their business and work ethic, assessing whether or not these women will be reliable in repaying their loan installments. During this assessment visit. Apani Sahakari Sewa Samiti’s staff members looks for hardworking and organized women who have strong relationships with their fellow Self-Help Group members, and consequentially are more likely to hold each other accountable and pay back their loan.