Credit for women entrepreneurs: The French Development Agency’s private sector financing arm Proparco has partnered with microfinance company SATYA MicroCapital for $20 million support to enable women entrepreneurs in rural India with access to finance. The partnership was initially announced on 14 July during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Paris as the guest of honour at France’s Bastille Day celebrations.
As part of the agreement, Proparco said it will also back SATYA MicroCapital in implementing appropriate policies for customer protection and streamlining environmental and social policies.
“As part of the Horizon 2047 Roadmap adopted by our leaders on July 14, France and India committed to working together on fostering social inclusion in pursuit of sustainable development goals. Today, we take a concrete step in this direction. This partnership between Proparco and SATYA MicroCapital, a pioneering Indian microfinance institution, will provide over 50,000 women across India access to microfinance to enable them to pursue their dreams and realise their projects,” said Thierry Mathou, Ambassador-designate of France to India.
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The impact of the multifaceted project is expected to contribute to SDG (sustainable development goal) 1 (No Poverty), SDG 5 (Gender equality and women empowerment) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), Proparco said in a statement.
“This partnership with a key player in the microfinance sector is aligned with Proparco’s new strategy for 2023-2027, which is acting for greater equality. The project will create significant impacts by improving access to financing for 53,730 micro-entrepreneurs running their own MSMEs,” said Diane Jegam, Proparco Regional Director for South Asia.
Focusing on a sustainable world, Proparco works with its partners to build sustainable solutions in response to environmental and social challenges in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. It offers financial solutions tailored to the different stages of business development, through its Digital Africa subsidiary, and its Propulse technical assistance designed to scale up the performance of its partners.
Vivek Tiwari, MD, CEO & CIO, SATYA MicroCapital said, “Our partnership with Proparco is an absolute motivation for SATYA to continue its mission of driving financial inclusion and empowering women entrepreneurs across India. The level of trust Proparco has reposed in our modus operandi will act as the tapestry of our impending expansion goals.”
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Established in October 2016, SATYA MicroCapital has achieved Assets Under Management (AUM) of more than Rs 5,000 crore and has a network of more than 500 branches approximately 50,000 villages across 25 states. So far, the company has enabled credit for more than 15 lakh women entrepreneurs from rural and semi-urban areas.
Importantly, the gross loan portfolio (GLP) or portfolio outstanding of the microfinance sector in India grew 17.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) as of March 2023 to Rs 3.37 lakh crore from Rs 2.86 lakh crore as of March 20222, according to a report by credit bureau Crif High Mark.