Incorporated in September 2001, Chhimek Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd (CBBL) received a micro-finance banking license from the Nepal Rastra Bank November 2001. CBBL is an offshoot of the micro-finance operation implemented by Neighborhood Society Service Centre (NSSC), a national level NGO, since the ‘90s in Mahottari and Chitwan in central Nepal.
Chhimek has an overarching aim to improve access to financial services of the poor and marginalized women members. It strives to promote a culture of saving, encourages income generation, supports micro-enterprises development and provides social security services to its member.
By the end of 2023, Chhimek had reached out to more than 400,000 poor and marginalized women clients in 69 districts through 197 branches across Nepal. Starting with a small paid-up capital of NRs 10 million, Chhimek’s core fund has increased nearly 180 times by the end of 2023.
Chhimek’s promoters are leading commercial banks, Neighborhood Society Service Centre (NSSC) and individual shareholders. The company is listed in the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) as CBBL.The ownership structure of the company is as follows:
Chhimek has been providing value-added services to its members since its inception Chhimek has been delivering value-added services to its members since its inception.
Chhimek believes in multi-layered and targeted interventions to address the causes of poverty amongst its members. Hence, an enabling eco-system of institutions have been promoted to provide business development services to the members and improve access to quality education to the wards of the members.
Chhimek has partnered with Central Bank of Nepal, Government of Nepal and development agencies to improve access to finance to poor and marginalized women in Nepal. A partnership with UKAid/DFID and UNNATI/UNCDF is geared towards adopting innovative IT-based micro-finance distribution channels to improve access to micro-finance in general and value chain development products and services to reach the unreached across Nepal.
Our vision is to be a social conscience bank that enables the poor to contribute equally to a prosperous, self-reliant rural society through self-employment and social awareness and to help reduce poverty in Nepal.
Our mission is to extend financial services and social awareness to the poor in under-served and unserved areas of Nepal in a sustainable manner.
Our specific objective is to improve the socio-economic condition of the poor, the landless, assets-less and the deprived rural women through the microfinance service.