Microfinance: Proparco is supporting the Indian institution Annapurna

Annapurna is based in Odisha, an East Indian state. This MFI was set up in 2007 by the NGO People’s Forum. It has maintained a very strong rural base and the vast majority of the population it serves are women in the fourteen states in central India where there is a low level of financial inclusion. The MFI, which is specialized in group loans to women, benefits from in-depth knowledge of its market segment and has a very strong capacity to innovate in order to carry out its social mission. 

It is the leading microfinance institution in the State of Odisha and the sixth largest microfinance institution in India by the size of its loan portfolio. Annapurna was certified Smart Campaign in 2016 and also received the A+ rating in March 2019 under the social rating conducted by MicroFinanza Rating.

Annapurna serves over 1,500,000 clients via a network of 570 branches and 5,270 employees.

The project involves the allocation of a USD 15m senior credit line to the Indian microfinance institution (MFI) Annapurna to support the development of its loan portfolio.

This project is part of the 2X Challenge initiative. This multi-stakeholder initiative aims to support projects that empower women as entrepreneurs, business leaders, employees and consumers of products and services, and increase their participation in the economy. 

This initiative thus contributes to Sustainable Development Goal #5 (Gender Equality).

The project has the following expected impacts:

• On the economic front, the project should strengthen the financial inclusion of vulnerable populations, as over 61,700 additional people should have access to high-quality microfinance products and services thanks to Proparco’s financing. 
• On the social front, the project should contribute to employment and training for local communities. The MFI currently has over 5,000 employees and could double its staff by 2023 in order to support its growth. In addition, the project should help create or maintain over 14,900 indirect jobs with Annapurna’s clients in India. In terms of training, the MFI has set up an in-house team which offers a wide range of training to all the staff, in particular for various gender-related themes (Gender training module), as gender equality is central to the MFI’s HR policy. There are also major social benefits for women as Annapurna’s employees are entitled to 6 months’ maternity leave.