Gurgaon-based Indifi disbursed ₹2,800 crore worth of loans to small business owners

• Women entrepreneurs account for 20% of Indifi’s total loan disbursals.
  
• Indifi said that it has disbursed 50,000 loans to over 30,000 micro SMEs.
  
• Over 64% of the loans for small business owners is concentrated in east, northeast and south regions.
  

Indifi Technologies, a Gurgaon-based online lending platform, said that it has disbursed 50,000 loans amounting ₹2,800 crores in the last six years. These loans were given to 30,000 micro SMEs.

As per the ministry definition, a micro enterprise’s annual turnover must be below ₹5 crore and its investment in plant, machinery or equipment must not exceed ₹1 crore.

“Micro entrepreneurs have historically struggled with access to timely capital but, with advancements in technology and data, the industry today is equipped with great tailwinds to change that,” Alok Mittal, co-founder and CEO said.

A fifth of Indifi’s loan disbursals went to women entrepreneurs. Further within the women-led businesses, 25% of the loans were given to first time borrowers and 25% to businesses from tier 2, 3 and 4 cities.

The loans that are being disbursed to micro enterprises have been going up. The Non Banking Finance Company-Micro Finance Institute’s (NBFC-MFI) portfolio increased by 36.6% in India from Q3 FY 19-20 to Q1 FY 22-23, according to a report by Microfinance Institutes Network (MFIN).

“During the first quarter, the sector was occupied with the implementation of new harmonized regulations of the RBI. Despite that the growth has been good and credit quality of post-Covid disbursements are at 95% plus. During the remaining period of FY 22-23, riding on robust branch expansion, pent up demand and conducive policy, the sector is poised for sustainable growth,” MFIN chairperson, Devesh Sachdev said.

The report also said that over 64% of the loans for small business owners are concentrated in east and northeast and south regions. The microfinance network is made up of NBFC-MFIs, banks, Small Finance Banks (SFBs), NBFCs and others (including Non-profit MFIs).

As on 30 June 2022, 3.5 crore clients have loan outstanding from BFC-MFIs, which is 13.8% higher than a year before, MFIN reports.

In spite of the recent growth, the credit gap to the MSMEs is estimated at ₹40 lakh crore, owing to barriers of access, cost, and underwriting. In India, microfinancing institutions (MFIs) are present in 27 states and five union territories.

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