Yes Bank inks pact to 'on-lend' USD 50 mln to women

Private lender Yes Bank today inked a tripartite agreement for on-lending USD 50 million loan from World Bank arm IFC to women entrepreneurs.
The bank will engage Goldman Sachs for identification and lending methodology to reach out to credit worthy businesswomen, the lender said in a statement.
The agreement will be crucial in supporting growth in India as it will promote job creation and also in having a multiplier effect, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Global Director (Financial Institutions Group) Marcos Brujis said.
The project is part of the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility (WEOF), a global facility dedicated to expanding access to capital to about 1 lakh women entrepreneurs. It was launched by IFC through its Banking on Women programme and 'Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women' in 2014.

The 'Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women' has also invested in the WEOF along with IFC, the statement said.
The USD 50 million loan aims to support women in all 29 states and seven union territories in India, Yes Bank said.

"This is a significant step towards strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem for women and will directly impact livelihoods," Yes Bank Managing Director and CEO Rana Kapoor said.
"This facility will also complement various government schemes for women entrepreneurs," he added.
Brujis said the partnership will help IFC's strategy to boost financial inclusion in India.
"In partnership with IFC, we have created the first ever global finance facility dedicated exclusively to women entrepreneurs. Through Yes Bank's established local network we hope to place more capital in the hands of women entrepreneurs in India", said Sonjoy Chatterjee, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs in India.

He said the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative has provided business training to over 1,300 women entrepreneurs in India to help them grow their businesses.
"Access to capital remains a major obstacle to growth for women entrepreneurs. Goldman Sachs research shows that closing this gender credit gap by 2020 could result in a per capita income increase of around 12 per cent in emerging markets by 2030", Chatterjee said.
The loan facility aims to help close to an estimated USD 285 billion credit gap for women-owned SMEs around the world, Yes Bank said.
According to estimates, there are three million women owned businesses in India and they employ over eight million people.