Sevak Solutions Inc | Extending Financial Networks

April 14, 2009
Collaboration agreement with Financial Ideas signed

Janine Firpo, the President of Sevak Solutions, and Chad Schneller, the CEO of Financial Ideas, completed a collaboration agreement today providing for the development and deployment of new technology to better serve the needs of financially distressed US Military personnel. More...

January 5, 2009
Sevak Solutions President Interviewed by CGAP
Janine Firpo spoke to CGAP’s technology team about mobile banking in East Asia and the Pacific. More….

CHALLENGE: Provide small, affordable, emergency, collateral free, short-term loans and fiscal education to low and moderate income individuals in the United States

Sevak Solutions is applying Financial Ideas technology to offer micro-lending solutions and financial education to assure that the working poor and distressed in the United States can obtain loans and the financial management skills they need to establish fiscal stability and monetary well-being. Targeted individuals are often members of affinity communities, an example of which is the US Military and their families. These individuals, many of whom are young and who come from underserved populations across the United States, participate in special programs and organized support groups that are established around military bases. Through their joint program, Sevak Solutions and Financial Ideas will collaborate with military focused credit unions and local community agencies to reach and identify potential micro-lending clients.

SEVAK SOLUTIONS: Managing loan pool, aggregating results of training by community agencies, and testing efficacy of Financial Idea’s "SoCap" electronic credit scoring tools in local settings.

· Sevak Solutions' online tools will promote good financial practices. US Military members will accumulate Social Capital "SoCap" from references, financial education and prudent money management.

· Sevak's micro lending program will be accessed through direct referrals from participating Credit Unions, military advisors, and other nonprofit agencies providing support and aid to the target population of financially distressed military personnel.

· Approved loan origination and servicing will be via participating Credit Unions followed by a loan made from Sevak's loan pool funds. Repayments are "evergreen" and are recycled into new loans.

· Initially, enlisted U.S. Military personnel and their families with low to moderate earnings. Subsequent expansion is planned for members of other affinity communities who also have low to moderate earnings and are experiencing difficult times.

· Pilot activities will take place in metropolitan San Diego

EXPECTED RESULTS:

· Community outreach to collaborate and aggregate educational programs for affinity community members to develop the financial skills they need to effectively manage their earnings and borrowing. Special focus will be on unbanked or underbanked members.

· Replace predatory lenders (e.g. payday loans) with an affiliate program so partnering credit unions can originate and service collateral free micro-loans to members approved through innovative “Social Capital” credit review tools. Funds will be provided through a non-profit loan program managed by Sevak Solutions.

· Raise donor funds for loan pools. Manage/recycle loan pools to purchase approved loans made to affinity community members from partnering credit unions. Credit unions service the loans for Sevak Solutions.

· Demonstrate an effective alternative to predatory lenders. Use the online automated infrastructure from Financial Ideas to enable efficient low cost operation that delivers low cost loans and other benefits for US Military affinity group members.


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