SKS Microfinance scales new heights in Andhra Pradesh

• Extends collateral-free loans worth Rs 922 crore to 6 lac women
• Vizag leads charge with 1 lac members
• Operations in 19 districts through183 branch offices
• Member base to reach 12 lac clients by 2009

Hyderabad - April 4, 2008

SKS Microfinance, one of the fastest growing microfinance institutions in the world, has recently scaled new heights in Andhra Pradesh where it extended loans to 6 lac poor women. The milestone is specially significant since SKS Microfinance started operations in 1998 from Narayankhed in Andhra Pradesh. Today, the NBFC has disbursed loans worth Rs.922 crore with an outstanding of Rs 275 crore from 183 branch offices across19 districts of the state.

In Andhra Pradesh, SKS Microfinance operates in Anantapur, Adilabad, Medak, Nizamabad, Karim Nagar, Mahbubnagar, Chittoor, Khammam, East Godavari, Srikakulam, Nalgonda, Sanga Reddy, Ranga Reddy, Warangal, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Prakasam , Nellore, Kurnool districts. In Hyderabad, SKS operates through 18 urban branches which have disbursed loans worth Rs 36 crore among 41,000 members .

Visakhapatnam, where operations were set up in July 2007, is the fastest-growing district for SKS across India. Loans worth Rs. 65 crore have been disbursed with outstanding amounting to Rs.48 crore among 1 lac members in the district in the first eight months of operations.

“In Andhra Pradesh, the BPL population has been estimated at 92 lac households with a loan requirement of Rs 19367 crore. We at SKS have made a small impact by reaching out to 6 lac women in Andhra Pradesh. We plan to reach out to 12 lakh clients by March ’09, ” said Mr K V Rao, Vice President, Member Services, SKS Microfinance.

In Andhra Pradesh, SKS has provided Individual Loan Products to 18,300 members worth Rs 50 crore. Over 1,60,000 lives are covered under Health Insurance in Kammam and Karim Nagar districts. As a pilot project, loans for mobile handsets have been introduced in Nalgonda since November 2007. Over 10,000 handsets have been sold at competitive rates to members across 25 branches in Nalgonda district.

SKS uses a lending model that was developed by Nobel Prize winner, Muhummad Yunus of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. The system involves forming groups of five women who serve as guarantors for each other, thus enabling SKS to provide loans without taking any collateral from borrowers.

Borrowers use loans largely for setting up trade followed by services, livestock and production. Returns on borrower enterprises average 100%, enabling them to earn income, build assets, and get out of poverty.