SKS Microfinance extends loan to 6 lakh poor women in AP

Hyderabad, Apr 8 (UNI) SKS Microfinance today announced that it has extended loans to six lakh poor women in Andhra Pradesh, since it started its operations in 1998.

The NBFC had disbursed loans worth Rs 922 crore, with an outstanding of Rs 275 crore from 183 branch offices across 19 districts of the State, a press release here said.

Visakhapatnam, where operations was set up in July 2007, has become the fastest-growing district for SKS across India, with loans worth Rs 65 crore being disbursed with outstanding amounting to Rs 48 crore among one lakh members in the district.

SKS Microfinance Vice-President (Member Services) K V Rao said in Andhra Pradesh, the Below Poverty Line(BPL) population was 92- lakh households with a loan requirement of Rs 19367 crore. The company had created an impact by reaching out to six lakh women in the State and is expected to reach out to 12 lakh clients by March, 2009''.

SKS uses a lending model that was developed by Nobel Prize winner Muhummad Yunus of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. The system involves forming groups of five women, who serve as guarantors for each other, thus enabling SKS to provide loans without taking any collateral amount from borrowers.

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