A self-help group (SHG) is a financial intermediary committee usually composed of 10 to 20 local women or men between 18 to 40 years. Most self-help groups are in India, though SHGs can be found in other countries, especially in South Asia and Southeast Asia. SHG is nothing but a group of people who are on daily wages, they form a group and from that group one person collects the money and gives the money to the person who is in need.

Self-help groups are started by Creation Welfare Society(CWS) that generally have broad anti-poverty agendas. Self-help groups are seen as instruments for goals including empowering women, developing leadership abilities among poor and the needy people, increasing school enrolments and improving nutrition and the use of birth control. Financial intermediation is generally seen more as an entry point to these other goals, rather than as a primary objective