Mumbai, March 11th, Financial Inclusion is a key national priority and microfinance institutions play a key role in extending credit and other services like micro pensions, insurance etc to the unbanked sections of our society. As per MFIN (Microfinance Institutions network) publication Micrometer released last week, 43 NBFC MFI’s cover over 26 million clients with a portfolio outstanding of over INR 24,000 crores. Arohan Financial Services (P) Limited, a reputed NBFC MFI financial inclusion institution headquartered in Kolkata and operating in the low income states of West Bengal, Bihar And Assam, recently celebrated a major milestone – crossing of active 2 lac customers on its books
Mr. P.K Nag, DGM of the SME unit of State Bank of India and Mr. Subodh Sardar, AGM at SBI, Kolkata were the chief guests at a simple function in the Behala banch of the company. The 200,000th customer, Smt. Sonali Dutta, was felicitated at the Behala (Kolkata) branch of the Company during a disbursement, by Mr. Nag in the presence of the company’s MD Mr. Manoj Kumar Nambiar and CEO Mr. Shubhankar Sengupta among others. Smt. Sonali Dutta, a seamstress by occupation, thanked Arohan for the assistance and expressed hope that Arohan would be there to support her aspirations for many years in the future
Mr. Nag expressed pleasure at being able to attend and commented that “We at SBI have believed in banking for all and are happy to be playing a part with MFI’s like Arohan in providing financial facilities to the unbanked sections of society”. Mr. Manoj Kumar Nambiar, Managing Director, closed the ceremony thanking the customer and SBI for the faith reposed in Arohan and expressing his confidence that Arohan would continue to grow and to touch the lives of an increasing number of people in the low income states of the country. He quoted “This is a perfect example of how the coming together of an MFI like Arohan and a bank like SBI helps to make available microcredit facilities to customers like Smt. Sonali Dutta. We look forward to growing and playing a part in the financial inclusion agenda of our country. ”
About Arohan
Arohan is one of the most respected microfinance institutions in Eastern India with a mission of providing “financial inclusion” to poor households. A Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) with headquarters in Kolkata, Arohan operates in the low income states of Bihar, Assam and West Bengal and currently serves over 100,000 people with the support of 550 employees across 66 branches. The Company played a pioneering role in introducing individual lending to micro-entrepreneurs in urban areas and currently offers innovative micro-pensions and insurance products to its customers. A part of the Intellecap Group, Arohan has become a pioneer in exploring the inorganic growth model with great success for the MFI sector.