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Purvi Tank
Hometown:
Santa Maria, California
Class:
2002
Major:
Economics for Business and Management
Positions:
Visiting Fellow, Self-Employed Women's Association (August 2003-June 2004),
and Associate, Grassroots Trading Network, India (August 2004-present)
1. Descriptions of the places where I worked and my responsibilities -
Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)
As an American India Foundation Service Corps Fellow, I was placed at SEWA, a non-profit organization in Gujarat, India, focusing on women’s empowerment. The 700,000 members of SEWA are poor women in the informal sector who have organized themselves into over 100 cooperatives in 5 Indian states. Recently, the director of SEWA was appointed to Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative as an advisor on issues surrounding poverty.
Given my interest in finance--after graduating
I did a short stint in
investment banking at Banc of America Securities and then left in search of
something different--I asked to take up a project at SEWA Bank, one of the
largest cooperatives in the organization. The Bank services clients in urban
and rural areas and is considered one of India’s most effective microfinance
institutions, with over $20 million in working capital and over 200,000 bank
accounts.
My first task was to put together a survey documenting and analyzing SEWA’s microfinance program in 2 districts within the state of Gujarat. As my credibility and interests grew, I participated in a 4-day Exposure visit with executives from the World Bank, the German Ministry, and other international organizations, living the life of a SEWA member in an urban slum and discussing policy implications with the group. My interest in microfinance management drew me to a class at IIMA, one of India’s premier business schools. And towards the end of my fellowship, I was lucky enough to get involved in conceptualizing a social enterprise that was being incubated at SEWA called Grassroots Trading Network (GTN). At the end of my time at SEWA, the executive director appointed me to help start up GTN in Mumbai.
I was at SEWA for 9 months, completing my fellowship in June 2004.
Grassroots Trading Network (GTN)
Based in Mumbai, India, GTN is a social enterprise focused on facilitating cross-sector partnerships that increase returns to poor producers and provide them with sustainable employment. Upon establishing operations in India, GTN will expand into other parts of Asia, Latin America, and Africa. GTN formed a partnership between ITC Ltd., one of India’s largest corporations, and SEWA for the procurement of export quality sesame seed. The partnership resulted in value added services for ITC and doubled the incomes of 1450 marginal farmers at SEWA. Today, SEWA contributes to almost 10% of ITC’s sesame seed exports.
While in India, my work focused on developing a company strategy and governance structure, recruiting member non-profit organizations and meeting with multilateral organizations and corporations to garner support for GTN. There was also LOTS of writing involved as we were preparing core documents and marketing materials. One of the most interesting things I did at GTN was present at a board meeting in front of international executives from the World Bank, Global Fairness Initiative, Government of Mexico, and the private sector.
I joined GTN in India in Sept 2004 and am currently fundraising for them in the US.
2. In general, what I enjoyed most about my experiences -
The thing I value most about my time at these organizations is the hands-on impact and being able to take ownership of my projects. I also loved learning about development from different perspectives (corporate, multilateral, government, etc).
These positions are well-suited for people who like taking initiative, want a steep learning curve, like challenging work environments, have an interest in international development, and want to see and feel the impact of their work.
3. The best ways to prepare for this type of career –
While you’re still at Oxy you can: study abroad, take Development Economics, take a foreign language, volunteer and get involved in projects and activities that encourage you to develop your own framework. Also, look around for different fellowships and international study programs. If you’re particularly interested in development in India, check out the American India Foundation website (www.aifoundation.org), and the Indicorps site (www.indicorps.org) for short-term and long-term fellowship opportunities.
I’d love to talk to interested students/alums about my experiences.
For more information, e-mail Purvi at purvitank@gmail.com
November 7, 2005