from Aditya Kondawar | by Aditya Kondawar

The story of How Bandhan was founded - Chandra Shekhar Ghosh (Founder of Bandhan which became Bandhan Bank) saw a burly man one day in a red T-shirt riding a Royal Enfield Bullet. When the gentleman stopped at the entrance to the market, half a dozen women rushed to him t.co/9wzzE7Zsl0

In fact, they had been waiting for him to arrive. To each of them, the man gave Rs 500 & collected Rs 5 simultaneously He came back late in the afternoon, this time wearing a blue T-shirt. The same women—who were vegetable sellers in the market—returned the money, Rs 500 each

Ghosh watched the ritual with curiosity for a few days. Every morning, the women would buy sackfuls of cauliflowers, tomatoes, brinjals, and spinach outside the Sealdah railway station in Kolkata from the farmers who would come mostly from Lakshmikantapur

One evening, when those women were about to leave the market after settling the moneylender's dues, he could not resist asking them why they were paying so much interest to this man. His calculation was fairly simple: on Rs 500, they were paying Rs 5 as interest for half a day

This translated to 1% interest for half a day, and 730% a year! But the women told Ghosh a different story. They were not paying any interest; rather, they were just buying a cup of tea for the moneylender. Moreover, they were earning enough to afford this

Will a bank give us money?' the group asked. “No institution lends me Rs 500/1000. The money lender gives it to me at my business place & collects it also from there. I do not have to travel. No signs are needed. No guarantor as well”, the vendor was perfectly happy with it.

This was what Chandra Shekhar Ghosh took away from the encounter – why not offer doorstep service for small ticket loans at a much lower interest rate. This is what led to the founding of Bandhan which was into microfinance and then eventually became a Bank!

Src - Google, some articles & even in the book 'Bandhan - The making of a bank' by @TamalBandyo It's a super read, go for it :)