We are a non-banking finance company (NBFC), registered with and regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). We are engaged in providing microfinance services to women from poor segments of urban and rural Tamil Nadu. Our vision is to help. We believe we can achieve this, by providing financial and non-financial services to the poor and thereby recognizing them as a bankable segment.
We provide micro/small loans exclusively to poor women in urban and rural Tamil Nadu. These loans are granted to women borrowers essentially for use in their small businesses or other income generating activities and a small portion for personal consumption. These women often have no access to loans from traditional banks or financial institutions and generally borrow from private lenders, who charge very high rates of interest.
We adopt a joint liability group model to provide unsecured loans to our members. This model ensures credit discipline through weekly / fortnightly / monthly meetings, mutual support, and peer pressure within the group to make sure individual members are diligent in utilizing the loan and are prompt in repaying their loans. Because of the joint liability model, failure by an individual of the group to make timely loan payments would ensure the group to make the payment on behalf of the defaulting member or they would use peer pressure to ensure timely payment.
We have a first mover advantage in Chennai as we were the first urban MFI to set up operations in Chennai in 2005. Our long and profitable track record and our focus on women empowerment are our distinctive competitive advantage. We finance our expansion by accessing both debt and equity. A specialized microfinance focused fund based in the United States of America, viz., Developing World Markets, has invested INR 50 Crore in equity of the Company.
Started as a Private Limited Company in 2004
Converted in to a Public Limited Company (unlisted) in November, 2005
Obtained license from the Reserve Bank of India as “Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) – Non-Deposit taking” in January, 2006
Obtained license from the Reserve Bank of India as “NBFC-MFI” in May, 2015
PRIVATE EQUITY INFUSION in January 2010 from overseas investors from the USA – Developing World Markets – INR 500 Mn. (USD 10 Mn.) funded across three tranches
