Sakhi – EMPBindi INT

EMPBindi International Association aims to empower Solar Engineers to sell solar products to rural communities in India. However, one of the main challenges is the lack of affordable and accessible financing options for the customers, who often rely on EMPBindi International Association subsidies and community funds to purchase the products. These sources of funding are not integrated with the sales process, and do not promote digital financial inclusion, which is aligned with the government's 'Digital India' initiative.
To address this challenge, EMPBindi International Association has developed a smart subsidy and credit scoring algorithm that can provide instant and customized decisions on the eligibility and amount of subsidy and/or credit for each customer. The algorithm takes into account various factors such as household income, energy needs, repayment capacity, and social impact. The algorithm is embedded in a mobile application that allows the Solar Engineers to enter customer information and receive the decision in real time or with minimal delay. The customer then pays a portion of the cost using digital currency, while the rest is covered by EMPBindi International Association and its lending partner(s). This way, the customer can access affordable and convenient financing options, while also building a credit history and accessing other digital financial services.
The mobile application is based on a unique code base that was developed in collaboration with the Apple Developer academy, Naples, Alumni PEER Program. The code base allows for a modular approach to functionality and a Dashboard that delivers secure data to all stakeholders in real time. The mobile application is part of a larger digital technology suite of Apps that EMPBindi International Association has created to bridge the literacy and numeracy divide among its beneficiaries.
The app works even without internet connection and meets the core needs of the sales agents. It is user-friendly for those who cannot read or write well and helps them sell products on easy terms with or without subsidy depending on the customer's eligibility. It has a voice feature that guides the users through the app and lets them answer questions by speaking. Furthermore, it also enables the users to create customer profiles by filling in text and number fields, taking photos, choosing yes or no options, and recording audio clips. It shows all the customer profiles that the users have interacted with, along with their product purchases and payment status. It allows the users to access data from the Ground Partner app. Likewise, it shows the products that the users have in their inventory and their prices. Not only that, but it enables the users to sell more solar products to their existing customers in the future. It lets the users view their earnings, customer engagements and inventory levels. It connects the users with other agents and ground partners and allows them to communicate. It supports offline and digital payment collections (by sending UPI requests via SMS). It integrates with a payment gateway as well.