To empower women and promote financial inclusion through the construction of sustainable livelihoods, Bandhan was founded in 2001 as a non-profit organization. A little community called Bagnan, which is roughly 60 km from Kolkata, is where it began its microfinance activities. Individual financing through group formation served as the model for how microfinance services were delivered. The goal of Bandhan is to serve underbanked and underserved populations. The RBI granted Bandhan a banking licence on June 17, 2015, making it the first microfinance organization to ever open a universal bank in India.
