More than just microfinance

This Indian national is no loan shark, and his microfinance business is not a "five-six" enterprise.

Trying to break away from the stereotype of the "Bumbay" moneylender riding a motorcycle, Punnu Singh Wasu believes in helping those who borrow money from him make the most of the funds.

"Filipinos who take out loans should not just get the money and do as they please. They should learn how to utilize the money so they can turn a profit," he said.

Microfinance, according to Wasu, involves not just the "give and take of money, but the exchange of ideas and good business methods."

Having been in the microfinance business since 1997, Wasu admits that this is a risky way of making money since there is "no documentation, no amortization, and is mostly based on trust."

He said the reason many Filipinos have a low opinion of Indians in this type of business is that some "illiterate" Indian nationals engaged in microfinance but "didn’t know how to handle it."

Classically trained in various traditional Indian musical instruments and having earned a diplomate in electronics from a university in India, Wasu was initially resistant to the idea of microfinance because of the social stigma attached to it.

His father Surender Singh Ragi and brother Charanjit were invited to the Philippines thrice to play their music before deciding to make their home here in 1993.

Wasu accepted an offer by an international import-export company to work as a manager in its Philippine office. He was later promoted to director and assigned to Moscow.

He quit in 1996, came back to the Philippines and started his own band. However, gigs were not as frequent as he would have liked. Six months of mostly staying at home took its toll.

Charanjit convinced Wasu to give microfinance a try, telling him it is a "sharing of financial help wherein both parties profit and respect each other."

Wasu’s income, however, does not depend solely on his microfinance business. He earns quite a bit from being a musician and teacher.

"Being a musician is a gift for me," he said.

Though it was difficult at first, he has since established himself and his band, Sing India, in the local music scene. With Wasu as vocalist and mandolin player, Sing India regularly performs at Bollywood restaurant in Greenbelt 3.

"I have been performing in so many places — India, Dubai, London, Belgium," he said, adding that locally, he also gets "paid well" to perform at restaurants, bars, private parties and school events.

As a teacher of yoga and reiki healing, Wasu said he has to lead a "very disciplined kind of life" in order to set an example. He is a vegetarian by choice.

"I would love to share what knowledge I have, not as a teacher but as a friend. I still have to learn so many things in life," he said, noting that this is also his approach to his clients in his microfinance business.

Risky business

Risk is part and parcel of all businesses, but Wasu points out that microfinance is particularly tricky.

"About 25 percent of the people do not pay, another 25 percent don’t pay on time, 25 percent are very good at paying, and the last 25 percent will pay if they have money and you’ll just have to bear with them if they don’t," he said.

Wasu said he has also seen people issue bouncing checks to make him believe their credit-worthiness, then take the money and run away.

"I just talk to them," he said. "If I have cheated somebody in a past life, I will be cheated. The law of karma doesn’t forgive anybody."

An Indian national on a motorcycle, going from client to client, is vulnerable to more than traffic accidents. Wasu admits that he has been held up at least four times, but believes that the Filipinos who did it did not really stalk him but merely took advantage of an opportunity to get some quick money.

As to the lessons he has learned from several years in the microfinance business, Wasu observed that Filipinos love to spend and then look to their friendly neighborhood microfinancier for help.

"They take out loans for celebrating birthdays, rather than investing the money in a business. Then they are unable to pay their debts," he said, adding that they should spend on things that are necessary and think twice before they spend on anything.

To make his point, he said the Philippine market is fueled by the Filipinos’ penchant for spending, but in India, frugality is a valued trait and the Indian market is fueled by the sheer number of consumers.

An extreme example of Indian frugality is the "makhi chus," according to Wasu, a miser who would, if a fly landed in his coffee, take the fly between index finger and thumb and squeeze it in order to get the remaining drops of coffee.

He hopes that, by helping Filipino entrepreneurs manage their money, they will learn to be frugal and pass this on to other Filipinos.

"We hope and pray Filipinos would be more open to Indians, and not use terms like ‘Bumbay’ and ‘five-six,’" Wasu said.

He said non-government institutions and banks actually engage in microfinance as well, giving cooperatives and small and medium-scale entrepreneurs small, short-term loans.

"Microfinance is not a bad thing. We help Filipinos, we don’t squeeze them dry," Wasu said.