[Funding alert] Satin Creditcare gets $15M ECB funding from Development Bank of Austria

Micro-finance company Satin Creditcare Network on Friday said it has received external commercial borrowing (ECB) funding of $15 million (around Rs 107.2 crore) from Development Bank of Austria (OeEB), to accelerate its lending portfolio.

The investment will support SCNL in its planned expansion, portfolio growth, and its efforts in increasing financial inclusion through its operations in 22 states.

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This will be the third round of ECB funding by a foreign institution in SCNL while showcasing their continuous interest in the company and the microfinance sector in India. The first ECB investment in SCNL was by World Business Capital and second investment was by responsAbility Investment.

This is OeEB’s first investment in the MFI industry in India under the new ECB guidelines. OeEB works in developing countries and emerging markets and provides financing for sustainable economic development. 

“We are delighted that OeEB, Development Bank of Austria rest strong trust in SCNL by making us their first choice of funding in India. The funding from OeEB will help us to strengthen our ongoing credit lending services to a larger section of existing and potential customer base and accelerate our reach across India,” H P Singh, Chairman and MD, SCNL said. 

With an outstanding portfolio of Rs 7,182 crore and serving over 3.6 million customers, SCNL has been given MFI1 grading, the top industry grading by CARE.

“Increasing financial inclusion is one of our main strategic goals. We are therefore proud to work with SCNL – an experienced partner in the field of microfinance. Especially, women often have very limited access to financial services, which is why we are particularly happy that our funds will support female entrepreneurs and contribute to improving gender equality in India,” Sabine Gaber, Member of the Executive Board of the Development Bank of Austria said.

Satin Creditcare Network Limited is a leading microfinance institution (MFI) in India with presence in 22 states and about 83,274 villages. The company’s mission is to be the one-stop solution for excluded households at the bottom of the pyramid for all their financial requirements. 

It also offers a bouquet of financial products in the non-MFI segment (comprising of loans to MSMEs), a housing finance subsidiary, business correspondent services, and similar services to other financial institutions through Taraashna Financial Services Limited, a business correspondent company and a 100 percent subsidiary of SCNL.

In April 2017, SCNL incorporated a wholly-owned housing finance subsidiary, Satin Housing Finance Limited for providing loans to the affordable housing segment. In October 2018, SCNL forayed into the digital lending space with “Loan Dost” to target millennials.

In January last year, it received a separate NBFC license to commence its MSME business, Satin Finserv Limited.

(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)

(Edited by Suman Singh)

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