The problem
Neighbourhood shops in India keep their customers by selling on udhaar, informal credit: take the goods now and settle at the end of the month, with no interest. Reporting on kirana stores describes it as something large retailers and delivery apps cannot easily copy.
Most shops record that credit in a handwritten ledger, the khata. A lost page or a disputed total can cost the shop money, and reminding a neighbour that they owe is uncomfortable.
Ledger apps now handle the basic record for shops that have a smartphone. Open questions remain for shops without one, and for turning a shop's credit records into something a lender will accept.
- Who has this problem
- Kirana and other small shop owners who give regular customers credit.
- Languages needed
- Hindi and regional languages
Where the demand comes from
What people do today
- The workaround
- A handwritten khata, and reminders given in person.
- Why that fails
- Entries are missed or disputed, and reminding a neighbour about money is uncomfortable.
How others solved it2
Products and services that work on a similar problem, in India and elsewhere.
- KhatabookIndia
A digital ledger for small shops, in more than 11 Indian languages.
- OkCreditIndia
A digital credit ledger app for small businesses.
Read and watch1
Where the facts on this page come from.
- Article20 years since big retail arrived, India's kirana stores remain resilient
The Secretariat