Sandeep Manak - Hyderabad, India
In 2005, Sandeep worked on microfinance projects in Hyderabad, India.
Sandeep's bio
Who are you?
Sandeep Manak, from Vancouver, B.C.
Where and when were you posted?
I was posted in Hyderabad, India, a major city in South India, in 2005.
What did you do there?
I worked in the microfinance sector with microfinance consultancy Andhra Pradesh Mahila Abhivruddhi
Society (APMAS).
What did you learn through your internship?
Now that a few years have passed since working at APMAS, it has helped to put in perspective my ultimate contribution to APMAS. Fellow colleagues at APMAS were and continue to be an inspiration for their ongoing drive and professionalism to manage development programs in spite of the hardships of insufficient funding, excessive bureaucracy, along with all the day-to-day issues of working in a developing country. My contribution was to provide a different perspective on a variety of development they could focus on what they are strongest at – advising microfinance groups on how they can improve the quality of their finances to achieve self-sufficiency.
What are you doing these days?
I now work with HSBC in their emerging markets private equity group. I still maintain regular contact with the staff of APMAS and have visited them since the internship. The most important thing I have taken away from the experience is an appreciation for the vast inequality in wealth there is in the world, the varied ways to support development and the importance of making a contribution to causes that are larger than ourselves.
Photos
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| Adilabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. November 2005. A site visit to a self-help group consisting of approximately 25 women. With colleague Chandrika Dhan, we interview the women and determine the weaknesses in the marketing process of forest products that they collect for sale to wholesalers. |
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| Chandrik Dhan, a fellow colleague at APMAS, looks over the books of a wholesaler who purchases the goods of villages for sale in larger markets. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, the village does not obtain a fair price for their work as the wholesaler can charge a much larger markup when they sell their product in bigger urban markets. |
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| Sandeep repeats grade 3, for the second time. |
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| Jennifer Livingstone, my Canadian colleague and fellow APMAS intern, with the members of the board of directors of a self-help group. Warangal, Andhra Pradesh, India, July 2005. |
