Microfinance Focus, October 19, 2011: Citi India has partnered with 12 NGO’s in 2011 and committed nearly Rs 100 million in grants across these NGO’s for promoting economic empowerment in India.

Since 1999, Citi has supported projects with over 22 NGOs across the country. During this period, Citi-funded programs have benefited more than 1.65 million economically disadvantaged families by way of enterprise development, youth education and livelihoods, financial capability and asset building, and microfinance.

Citi increased its investments in enterprise development, and youth education and livelihoods in 2011. Its partnership with the American India Foundation (AIF) is designed to enable AIF expand its Market Aligned Skills Training (MAST) program and provide unemployed youth with the skills needed to secure service-sector jobs.

Citi continues to support its eight-year relationship with the Indian School of Microfinance for Women (ISMW), an organization that it co-founded with SEWA and Friends of Women’s World Banking (FWWB), India. The Citi Centre for Financial Literacy at ISMW has enabled access to financial education for more than 800,000 women from low-income backgrounds.

Citi also continues to support Meljol, a program that brings financial education to schools across Maharashtra, Kerala Assam, Rajasthan, Orissa and Jharkhand. Over the last four years, the partnership between Citi and Meljol has reached out to 2,500 government schools and increased the financial awareness of more than 460,000 children.

Some of the other growing relationships include Medha Corp, Appropriate Technology India and Access Development Services.