Ideas of India 2024: Women Empowerment Helps Generate More Job Opportunities, Says Bandhan Bank CEO Ghosh

Ghosh said that when women earn, they not only contribute to the family and society, but also generate job opportunities by using the finances to help educate their kids and create more avenues

Women don’t get access to financial services and this was the goal for opening Bandhan Bank, said Chandra Shekhar Ghosh at the ‘Ideas of India’ Summit on Saturday. Speaking at the ABP Network's third edition of 'Ideas of India Summit', the MD and CEO of Bandhan Bank, said, “We found out when we worked at the village level that women dont have access to financial services. That is why we started Bandhan Bank. Today women are earning money and contributing to the society and family.”

Elaborating on ‘Banking on People Power, The Rise of Financial Freedom’, Ghosh shared his approach for women empowerment and helping the underprivileged sections of the society as the main motivation behind the lending institutions’ success. He added that out of the 3,26,00,000 customers associated with the bank today, more than 2 crore were women customers. 

The banking executive added that when women earn, they not only contribute to the family and society, but also generate employment opportunities by using the finances to help educate their kids and create more avenues for them. "Every woman inside has that entrepreneurship mind and their success rate as a startup is 95%. Their contribution to society and family is huge," he noted.

Charity Vs Business

On maintaining a successful business while continuing to help people, Ghosh said, “In any of the development activity or business, the main issue is sustainability. And charity cannot sustain! So we need to find support for that. What we like to do (in Bandhan) is that we are banking on doing business in a sustainable way to support the people, and whenever the surplus has come, we have given that to the CSR, and in a bigger way than other banks. That is our model.”

Ghosh, in addition to leading the lender, is also known for his experience of more than three decades in microfinance, banking, and development. The executive is famous for initiatives such as ‘Bandhan’ which helped impact and transform the lives of the underprivileged. 

The Bandhan Bank was launched as a not-for-profit entity in 2001 for the purpose of providing small loans to the underprivileged sections of society. The institution evolved into a NBFC (Non-Banking Finance Company) in 2006 and later transitioned into a universal bank in August 2015. 

Fintech vs Traditional Banking

Ghosh noted that while the digital sector has a crucial role to play in the future of the Indian economy, the personalised touch for the customer is something that traditional banking relies on. He added that a good number of account holders today are senior citizens who have a lack of trust towards the fintech firms and therefore, rely on more traditional banking avenues.

Watch streaming of Ideas of India on Metaverse 

This year marks the third installment of the ‘Ideas of India Summit’, hosted by the ABP Network. With themes like ‘Naya India’ and ‘Open Minds’ in its previous editions, this year’s event focuses on ‘The People’s Agenda’ and explores the critical issues facing India and its economy as we approach the upcoming elections this year.

The summit involves the participation of distinguished personalities across sectors to help understand a diverse narrative of the perspective of the Indian public. The two-day long summit included guests like actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, politician Shashi Tharoor, author Amish Tripathi, British MP Suella Braverman, and Indian-American author and model Padma Lakshmi, amongst others.