Coronavirus: Kerala start-up waives interest on agro loans

Kochi, Apr 1 () As novel coronavirus continues toaffect various industries colossally, a city-based fintechstartup set a benchmark by waiving off interest and processingcharges worth Rs 25 lakh on agro-loans it distributed to 136farmers in Tamil Nadu with a total ticket size of around Rs1.7 crores. Announcing the decision, Founder & CEO of Spoon, KurianGeorge said the firm currently handles two major agro-impact investment projects in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra andthe present waivers will be applicable to all loans disbursedbetween November 2019 and March 2020 in these projects inaddition to the government-declared moratorium on EMIs. "This will impact nearly 1000 people in the Nilgirisalone, where they are engaged in carrot, beetroot andpotatoes farming while in Maharasthra, our loans are given tocotton farmers" he said.

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

"The long walks and queues in banks were tiring. Pestsdestroy our crops by the time we receive money to applypesticides.

The intermediaries took away whatever was left. Also, theeducational expenses of our kids make survival moredifficult," he rued. The CEO of Spoon said the company was currentlyspecializing in impact agro-lending, providing hassle-freeloans for cultivation to farmers across India. The company operates on the principles of impactfinancing and integrates this with smart technology to benefitthe community at a larger scale, he said in a release. TGBROH ROH