Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2013 in cooperation with the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and the NPO “DSIA (Durable Social Innovation Alliance)”

Microfinance and BOP in India:The Importance for Indian Inclusive Development and Internship Opportunities for Japanese Students

Mr. Prem Das Rai
Member of Parliament in the 15th Lok Sabha (elected directly by people) Lower House of Indian Parliament (representing Sikkim State)

Time: 13:30 - 15:00
Date: September 9 (Mon.), 2013
Place: Rm. 202 in Bldg. No. 12
For those who are interested in attending the presentation, please send your name, affiliation and status to seminar@dsia.or.jp Free of Charge


Mr. Rai is still associated closely with the 10th world largest microfinance, BASIX. Different from other microfinances which mainly focus on financial operations, it provides diverse assistances which comprehensively hedge risks for the poor, so that they can participate into viable economic activities. BASIX’s goal is to realize sustainable livelihood for the poor and inclusive development in India.
Every year a large number of unskilled workers enter the labor market, and unfortunately a large portion of them remain unemployed. The rural area which absorbs the unemployed also remains highly inefficient. These are some of major causes of poverty in India. As efforts to solve these problems, BASIX engages in training, BOP projects, and venture creations, and offers long-term opportunities for the poor to engage in economic activities. Mr. Rai, being a parliamentarian directly elected by people (Lok Sabha), representing Sikkim State, is actively engaging in creating a favorable political environment for inclusive development as well as the environmental preservation of Himalaya Mountain Region.

Mr. Rai was educated at IIT Kanpur (Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering) and at IIM Ahmedabad (MBA). He held following positions: Senior Executive at Bank of America (Kolkata), Managing Director of Sikkim Milk Union, Chairman of Sikkim Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (SIDICO), Chairman of Sikkim Scheduled Tribes and All Other Backward Classes Financial Development Corporation (SABCO), Founding Chairman of the Ecotourism and Conservation Society of Sikkim (ECOSS), and CEO (north-east) of BASIX.


For more information on the talk, please contact Yoshitaka Okada, Professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sophia University.
Tel. 03-3238-4068, E-mail: y-okada@sophia.ac.jp

Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture: 7-1 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8554 http ://icc . fla . sophia . ac . jp/

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