Think global, act local
One of the main features of Oikocredit is to have a network of regional and country offices worldwide. In India, Oikocredit works through its subsidiary Maanaveeya Development & Finance Private Limited (Maanaveeya) that acts as a regional office with area managers to cover this enormous country.
Following Oikocredit’s global strategy, Maanaveeya hires local personnel to interact with the partners in the areas, because they differ in terms of (business) culture, customs, language, beliefs, etc. This is reflected in Maanaveeya’s portfolio composition and consequently in the partners that we will visit during the study tour. I will travel to Odisha in some days to visit microfinance partners with a strong focus on supporting livelihoods and self-help groups.
But before that, I will travel to Chennai, Tamil Nadu for a very special visit.