Anushree Jindal launches MFI, plans to foray into SME lending

Anushree Jindal (pictured), daughter-in-law of Sajjan Jindal, has launched a microfinance institution (MFI), Svamaan Financial Services. 

The firm has been set up with a seed capital of Rs 15 crore through personal funding, said Anushree. The MFI is also looking at lending to micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for loans up to Rs 2 lakh through the venture, she said. Svamaan plans to have a portfolio of Rs 100 crore, reaching out to almost 100,000 rural women by 2020-21, said Kiran Kumar, CEO, Svamaan Financial Services. Svamaan started operations on January 14, with lending to MSMEs in Karnataka and Maharashtra. 

At present, an NBFC-MFI is allowed to have only 15 per cent of its portfolio allotted for non-MFI lending.  Anushree has plans to launch another entity for full-fledged SME lending through a holding company. 

Svamaan started operations on January 14, with lending to MSMEs in Karnataka and Maharashtra. The MFI plans to expand operations in Odisha and Chhattisgarh by 2020, according to Kumar. The average ticket-size of the loans vary between 

Rs 15000 and Rs 25000.

"India's microfinance sector has grown exponentially over the past few years. However, there is still a significant scope for better reach and inclusion, by offering a wide array of products to our target customers," said Anushree.

The MFI plans to recruit nearly 100 employees by March, and plans to more than double it to 250 by 2020.  

The microfinance industry in India has a total loan portfolio of Rs 1,46,741 crore. This represents a growth of 7 per cent over the Q1 FY19 figures, and an annual growth of 51 per cent over Q2 FY18. The total number of active microfinance accounts was at 77 million as on September 30, 2018 - showing a growth of 27% over Q2 FY-18.