Coronavirus: Kerala start-up waives interest on agro loans

As novel coronavirus continues to

affect various industries colossally, a city-based fintech startup set a benchmark by waiving off interest and processing charges worth Rs 25 lakh on agro-loans it distributed to 136 farmers in Tamil Nadu with a total ticket size of around Rs 1.7 crores.

Announcing the decision, Founder & CEO of Spoon, Kurian George said the firm currently handles two major agro- impact investment projects in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra and the present waivers will be applicable to all loans disbursed between November 2019 and March 2020 in these projects in addition to the government-declared moratorium on EMIs.

 

"This will impact nearly 1000 people in the Nilgiris alone, where they are engaged in carrot, beetroot and potatoes farming while in Maharasthra, our loans are given to cotton farmers" he said.

Rajan, one of the Spoon customers in the Nilgiris since November 2019, said the major factor that makes digital loans really impactful is their timely and quick availability.

"The long walks and queues in banks were tiring. Pests destroy our crops by the time we receive money to apply pesticides.

The intermediaries took away whatever was left. Also, the educational expenses of our kids make survival more difficult," he rued.

The CEO of Spoon said the company was currently specializing in impact agro-lending, providing hassle-free loans for cultivation to farmers across India.

The company operates on the principles of impact financing and integrates this with smart technology to benefit the community at a larger scale, he said in a release.