India has seen financial inclusion and poverty reduction through microfinance. Many microfinance companies serve the unbanked and impoverished in the country.
These enterprises provide microloans, insurance, savings, and remittances to low-income people, small businesses, and farmers.
Many Indian microfinance companies have grown and diversified their activities in recent years. The RBI regulates the sector and sets laws to guarantee openness, accountability, and responsible lending.
Here are the Top 7 Microfinance Companies of India in 2023:
1) Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
This is a significant Indian financial organization that serves low-income individuals, small companies, and rural areas. The Bengaluru-based company was founded in 2016.
The bank offers savings, deposit, loan, insurance, and investment products through its branches and internet channels. Microfinance, agriculture, and MSME loans are among its portfolio.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank promotes financial inclusion and helps people and communities reach their financial goals. Technology improves its reach and customer service. The bank won the 2021 Business Today-Money Today Financial Awards for Best Small Finance Bank.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank helps India grow economically and promote financial inclusion.
2) Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (BFIL)
Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (BFIL) is an NBFC that provides microfinance to poor Indians in rural and semi-urban regions. Sangamitra Rural Financial Services, a society founded in 1997, became an NBFC in 2003. In 2019, IndusInd Bank bought BFIL, which became Bharat Inclusion Initiative.
BFIL provides group, individual, micro-enterprise, farm, and housing loans to low-income people, mostly women.
The company’s microfinance approach uses joint-liability groups (JLGs), where borrowers guarantee each other’s debts. This method has empowered rural women and promoted financial inclusion.
BFIL’s contributions to India’s microfinance business have garnered many honors. BFIL received the 2008 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship from the Skoll Foundation.
BFIL has been criticized for its exorbitant interest rates and harsh collection procedures. The firm was embroiled in a 2016 scandal concerning reported suicides of loan defaulters.
3) ESAF Small Finance Bank
New-age Indian bank ESAF Small Finance Bank offers a variety of financial products and services. The 2017-founded bank is based in Thrissur, Kerala. The RBI licensed it as a small financing bank in 2016.
ESAF Small Finance Bank serves rural and semi-urban unbanked and underserved communities. The bank offers deposits, loans, insurance, and investments. All consumers can use the bank’s easy, cheap services.
ESAF Small Finance Bank has 400 branches and 800+ ATMs in 16 Indian states. The bank offers Internet, mobile, and UPI banking.
ESAF Small Finance Bank got the Best Small Finance Bank Award in the “Asset Size between Rs. 500 crores and Rs. 2000 crores” category at the Business Today-Money Today Financial Awards 2021.
4) Svatantra Microfin Pvt. Ltd.
The is a major microfinance institution in India, established by Ananya Birla in 2010.
The firm microfinances rural and semi-urban women entrepreneurs.
Svatantra Microfin empowers women entrepreneurs by providing financial services, helping them develop sustainable lives for themselves and their family. The firm offers loans, savings, insurance, and financial literacy initiatives.
It serves approximately 1 million clients in 17 Indian states. Svatantra Microfin prioritizes customer service and leverages cutting-edge technology to deliver efficient and effective financial services.
Svatantra Microfin supports education, health, and women’s empowerment in addition to microfinance. The firm is a major social enterprise in India that strives to improve its communities.
Svatantra Microfin is an esteemed Indian microfinance organization that prioritizes social impact and customer care.
5) Janalakshmi Financial Services
Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS) was created in 2006 as a microfinance organization in India to serve low-income households and micro-enterprises. Grameen Koota Financial Services purchased JFS in 2018, becoming Jana Small Finance Bank.
JFS pioneered mobile loan distribution and biometric customer verification. The firm promoted financial inclusion and provided financing to underserved populations.
JFS works in 18 Indian states, focusing on Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra in the south. The firm offered savings accounts, group loans, and individual loans.
JFS provided education, health, and financial literacy programs in addition to microfinance. The company’s social objective was well-known.
JFS was a recognized and creative Indian microfinance organization that prioritized financial inclusion and social impact. After being acquired by Grameen Koota and renamed Jana Small Finance Bank, the organization continues to promote financial inclusion and empower underprivileged people in India.
6)Grameen Koota Financial Services
Vinatha M. Reddy launched this Bangalore-based company in 1999. The firm provides financial services to underserved and low-income households in rural and semi-urban India.
Grameen Koota Financial Services Pvt Ltd (Corporate Office) in Jayanagar 8th Block, Bangalore – Best Finance Consultants in Bangalore – Justdial
Grameen Koota offers loans, savings, insurance, and financial literacy. The firm empowers women, and over 95% of its loans are women. It serves 2.3 million customers in 16 Indian states.
Grameen Koota’s prudent lending is a strength. The organization adheres to openness, fairness, and ethical lending. To help clients comprehend loan terms, it offers financial literacy workshops.
Grameen Koota has won several honors for its social effect and ethical financing. It received Smart Campaign accreditation for client protection in 2018.
Grameen Koota is a recognized Indian microfinance institution that prioritizes social impact and responsible financing. It empowers women and promotes financial inclusion in India and has a history of serving underprivileged populations.
7) Chennai-based Equitas
Chennai-based Equitas Small Finance Bank (ESFB) is a scheduled commercial bank. Equitas Micro Finance Limited, formed in 2007, received a banking license from the Reserve Bank of India in 2016. ESFB prioritizes financial inclusion and customer service for low-income persons and small companies.
ESFB provides savings, current, fixed, loan, and insurance accounts. It offers microfinance, small business, automobile, and house loans.
Through its mobile app and Internet banking platform, consumers may access their accounts and make transactions anywhere.
ESFB has approximately 900 branches and internet banking facilities in India. It now has almost 5 million customers.
ESFB promotes financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and environmental protection through its responsible banking practices.
