Several NGOs are bringing the benefits of micro finance to the urban poor. (Below): A beneficiary runs her shop, opened with financial support. Pictures by Aranya Sen

Minati Sarkar (name changed), 33, of Ultadanga, did not have a paisa to sustain the family after the death of her husband, an autorickshaw driver, in 2004. Today, she is the proud owner of an autorickshaw spares shop.

Prabhati Gupta's rickshaw-puller husband was diagnosed with tuberculosis and rendered bedridden in 2006. Running the five-member household and taking care of her ailing husband was a tall order for Prabhati. Not only did she perform her role to perfection, the 30-year-old saved money to buy a rickshaw for her husband, who has now recovered.

"I am lucky that I received the financial support to run my family," smiles Prabhati, who runs a plastic kitchen equipment shop in Baranagar, on the northern fringes of the city. Minati, sitting in her 10ftx10ft shop in Ultadanga, echoes the feeling.

"This shop was started with an investment of Rs 5,000. I could pay off the instalments on time and that's why today, I am eligible for a loan up to Rs 12,000," says the mother of four, thanking Bandhan, a city-based NGO trying to bring the benefits of micro finance to the urban poor.

Not just Bandhan, around 10 such NGOs - like Arohan, Sahara Utsarga and Sarala - are trying to help the "poorest of the poor" in Calcutta with a supply of credit.

"We have seen that these people do not lack the skill to run a small business. Their biggest problem is funds and we are trying to bridge the gap," says Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, the founder and CEO of Bandhan.

According to him, the poverty level in urban areas is rising sharply and more and more people - denied employment in the organised sector - are pushed below the poverty line.

"For a long time, the focus of micro finance initiatives was on the rural poor. But we think the urban poor, too, deserve attention," says Shubhankar Sengupta, the managing director of Arohan.

According to a study conducted by Access - an umbrella organisation of NGOs - the number of people living below the poverty line in cities will be more than the number in rural India by 2022.

"Till now, micro finance initiatives in Calcutta has reached a very small proportion of the poor and we need to scale it up," says Ananda Lal Chakraborty, of Rajarhat Prasari.

The urban model is a mirror image of the rural model. People, who form groups to access credit, are given small loans. Based on their repayment record, the quantum of loan goes up. Not just the financial support, some NGOs also provide technical knowhow for their business.

"As is the case in the rural areas, the default rate is very low, which means people are properly using the money," sums up Sengupta of Arohan.