While the Indian government launched the country’s first state-owned bank for women just a few months ago, in the western state of Maharashtra, women have had their own bank for more than a decade.
Chetna Gala Sinha founded Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank–India’s first rural cooperative bank for women–back in 1997. It has since grown to become the largest cooperative bank for women in the state with seven branches and over 185,000 clients.