HDFC Bank on Friday said it has received $500 million from the International Finance Corp (IFC) for on-lending to women microfinance borrowers.
“The bank, with a long-standing history of lending to women, will use IFC’s financing for on-lending as microloans to self-help groups (SHGs) and joint liability groups (JLGs) enrolled in sustainable livelihoods initiative (SLI),” the lender said.
Currently, non-banking financial companies, including microfinance institutions and small finance banks, are major lenders to women seeking loan for income generation, collectively reaching approximately 47 million clients with an aggregate gross loan portfolio of $31.6 billion as of December 31, 2023.
“However, MFIs are highly fragmented, have limited capacity and face higher funding costs. In this context, the extensive distribution network of banks and lower funding costs, among others, can be leveraged to increase access to microloans for women, promoting self-employment,” HDFC Bank said.
Meanwhile, Fusion MFI on Friday said it has entered into a $25-million loan agreement with the US International Development Finance Corporation. These funds will be utilised towards expansion of Fusion MFI’s business operations in India. Fusion largely lends to women MFI borrowers.
