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Becomes the first insurance company to invest in an MFI

• Collateral-free loans worth Rs.9110 crore extended for income generation.
• Impacting 2.5% of the Indian population across 19 Indian states.
• Plans to reach 500 lakh poor women.

Hyderabad - September 08, 2009 :SKS Microfinance, India’s largest and the world’s fastest growing microfinance company has announced the achievement of a major milestone by providing loans to more than 50 lakh women across the country - It’s a first by any microfinance company in India.

This milestone marks the reach of SKS Microfinance across 2.5 percent of the Indian population. As a part of its larger vision of promoting greater financial inclusion and empowering the poor to become economically self-reliant by providing financial services in a sustainable manner the organization aims to reach out to 500 lakh poor households with its products and services.

SKS Microfinance achieved the landmark by recently extending loan worth Rs.10, 000 to Anita Devi in Darbhanga district of Bihar. It was providing an opportunity for economic upliftment to the family of nine. Anita Devi had sought the loan to buy a buffalo, which would help the family get a regular source of income in addition to the daily wages her husband earned.

““It’s the hard work and discipline of our members who repay us back on time that has helped us grow along with the confidence our investors have in us and the processes and systems that our staff follow diligently. This is also significant since it proves that microfinance can scale up using a for-profit model.” said M.R. Rao, COO, SKS Microfinance.

SKS provides unsecured loans and micro-insurance products to poor women and their families spread across 62,000 villages and slums of India while maintaining a 99% repayment rate. SKS adds over 50 new branches and 300,000 new members every month, growing at an annual rate of 188%, one of the fastest in the industry. On an average, an SKS member borrows Rs. 9002 /- under the basic income generating loan product

The company also offers a retail microinsurance product along with Bajaj Allianz for its members.