Sarat Chandra Das,Managing Director, GDF Home
The net lending in the Indian microfinance sector currently amounts to more than three lakh crore rupees and is a subject of continuous growth fueled by several factors. There has been immense growth in the number of banking institutions as well as NBFCs that have opened large-scale lending opportunities for borrowers across the nation. Technology innovations have also played a vital role in the development of the microfinance sector where we can see lenders making use of multi-language UIs to get connected with their customers. However, India being a vast land mass is very difficult to cover in totality. There are various underserved regions, especially in the northeastern part of the country where banks and NBFCs have still not been able to reach. These regions count among the remotest parts of the country and currently, there is a heavy requirement of lending capital in these regions. Grameen Development & Finance (GDF) based out of Assam aims to fill this lending gap in northeast India and reaches the underserved communities of the region.
The company is aiming at financial inclusion for the underserved regions and makes efforts to increase the rate of financial literacy in these areas. According to recent government reports, microfinance has emerged as a game changer for underserved communities of the country and RBI has also taken steps to promote this initiative. The regulatory guidelines for lending are similar for all kinds of banking institutions and NBFCs which leads to better transparency in transactions and imparts a defined objective for financial inclusion among citizens. “There is a huge market to cover in terms of population and we want to fill that gap and try to grow the level of financial literacy in the northeastern part of India. Currently, we are based out of Assam and have operations in four northeastern states”, mentioned Sarat Chandra Das, MD, GDF.
Focusing on Sustainable Livelihood
GDF is governed by a support organization named Grameen Sahara that came into existence in 2002. For a very long time, the organization has worked at uplifting underserved communities of northeast India and imparting the knowledge of financial literacy among citizens. After providing support to the citizens and assessing the requirements of the market, in 2007, GDF came into being starting with its microfinance activities. It initially started with group lending and eventually expanded its horizons to individual lending as well. The primary motive of this company is to identify the exact requirements in the market and provide capital support in the areas of need. It aims at achieving sustainable livelihood for the underserved communities in the northeastern part of India. It is one of the very few NBFCs that are working closely with the citizens of these regions and has been able to provide considerable support at the aimed geographies. GDF focuses on providing lending support to mostly farm-based communities in northeast India which is ultimately governed by the Grameen Sahara NGO.
Since its inception, GDF has earned considerable recognition and trust in the market through its transparent lending framework and relentless efforts in serving underserved communities
Sarat Chandra Das, Managing Director
We have seen in recent times that there have been numerous financial scams in the northeast regions where police have raided the offices of many NBFCs to check on any kinds of illegal activities happening. Many poor and underprivileged citizens have lost their hard-earned income and incurred heavy financial losses. This is exactly why GDF wants to create a sense of transparency and trust among the customers it serves and strictly follow all the RBI guidelines in terms of lending. “Currently, we can disburse loans up to three years at 15 percent interest which is comparatively lower than many other lenders available in this sector. We also provide other support services in terms of general insurance, and life and medical insurance. We are not directly involved in providing insurance because of IRDAI regulation but try to provide information about the latest insurance products to citizens”, stated the MD.
Future Endeavors
Since its inception, GDF has earned considerable recognition and trust in the market through its transparent lending framework and relentless efforts in serving underserved communities. It has helped in building many small businesses and worked a lot towards uplifting the underprivileged regions of northeast India. Looking ahead, it aims at creating its presence in more northeastern states and does not plan to expand business beyond northeast India as of now. “There is a huge demand for capital in this part of India and we are working on building business partnerships and mobilizing more capital to serve the need. We want to create our presence in the remote regions of this part of the country in the coming years”, concluded the MD.