Valar Aditi Social Finance Private Limited (VASFPL)
A Microfinance Initiative.
Empowering women through financial inclusion and capacity building.
A Microfinance Initiative.
Empowering women through financial inclusion and capacity building.
Valar Aditi Social Finance Private Limited (formerly known as Mani Leasing Private Limited) was incorporated as a private limited Company under the Companies Act, 1956 in the year 1985. Subsequently, the company received its Certificate of Registration from the Reserve Bank of India on 22nd March 2002 which licensed it to commence business as a Non Banking Finance Company (NBFC) with no public deposit mobilization. Currently, Valar Aditi Social Finance Private Limited operates among the women community in the State of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry with plans to expand into other areas in the future.
Valar Aditi Social Finance Private Limited was taken over through the capital contributions from Mutual Benefit Trusts (MBTs). These MBTs were promoted by the Self Help Group members developed by St. Joseph's Development Trust (SJDT), a registered charitable trust in south Tamil Nadu established in 1992 for pursuing rural development. This involved empowering the rural poor women community economically and socially through the Self Help Group Programs that would create opportunities for development and sustainable livelihood.
St.Joseph's Development Trust was founded by Rev.Dr.I.Sebastian, a dedicated social worker with more than 30 years of experience in development and welfare activities focused at uplifting the marginalized, abandoned, and vulnerable sections of the society. SJDT which initially succeeded in changing the living conditions of the people with women's self help group programs, is actively involved in various interventions like running of homes and orphanages for the poor and abandoned children especially girl children, homes and schools for mentally retarded children, complementary school programme, day care centers, technical institute for school drop outs and street children, sponsorship support programs and other women empowerment programs.
The Self Help Group program was started way back in 1998 when 2524 women self help groups were formed in various districts of south Tamil Nadu. In order to ensure sustained development of the Self Help Groups the SJDT facilitated the formation of the SHG federation in different regions and had them registered as Mutual Benefit Trust (MBT) for good governance and management structure to support its functioning as independent people's organization, protecting the interest of various stakeholders.
In order to ensure continued, sustainable, and expanded credit support to women self help groups, it became imperative to promote a regulated Non Banking Finance Company. In view of the transition compliance to legal form, SJDT facilitated the MBT's to acquire shares of the Non Banking Finance Company and thereby become owners of Valar Aditi Social Finance Private Limited.
BestSeller Fund, a private independent philanthropic foundation from Denmark, was associated with St. Joseph's Development Trust in the execution of relief and rehabilitation programmes for Tsunami victims in affected districts in Tamilnadu. When St.Joseph's Development Trust together with Mutual Benefit Trusts promoted the Non-Banking Finance Company, Best Seller Fund offered to be a partner in the endeavor. Best Seller Fund has a major stake in the company.