U Gro Capital launches Rs 1,000 Cr co-lending initiative with Bank of Baroda for MSMEs

U GRO Capital, the BSE-listed technology-focused small business lending platform, on Wednesday said it has launched a co-lending partnership with the Bank of Baroda for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The Rs 1,000 crore co-lending programme, Pratham, will allow MSMEs to avail customised lending solutions at a competitive rate of interest, with a significant reduction in turnaround time. The loans disbursed under the programme will fall between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 2.5 crore, with the interest rate starting from eight percent with a tenure of a maximum of 120 months.

Commenting on the development Shachindra Nath, Executive Chairman and Managing Director, U GRO Capital, said, "It gives us immense pleasure to launch one of our most significant programmes ‘Pratham’ and sign the co-lending agreement with Bank of Baroda under RBI’s revised guidelines. We look forward to nurturing this essential relationship in our bid to support more MSMEs in the remotest locations to help them revive and grow."

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According to an official statement released by the company, the initiative involves "minimum documentation." Moreover, the lending firm's proprietary developed platform GRO-Xstream will enable a faster turnaround time of sanctioning loans with an in-principle approval issued within 60 minutes.

Pratham will reportedly be accessible to MSMEs across 200 channel touchpoints, which includes states and cities like Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda, said, “We are glad to have joined hands with U GRO Capital by way of this co-lending programme, which resonates with our intent to extend support to more MSMEs. We believe that forging such partnerships is the way forward and collaborative efforts, leveraging individual entities’ expertise are of utmost importance to take co-lending to the MSME segment to the next level. This is a significant advancement in the same direction.”

U GRO Capital is focused on addressing the capital needs of small businesses operating in select eight sectors by providing customised loan solutions. It has raised Rs 920 crore of capital from a diversified set of private equity funds like institutional investors and well‐known family offices.