NeoGrowth’s commitment towards SME Financing receives international support

Published on :   Oct / 14 / 2016
Seated (L-R): Piyush Khaitan, Managing Director & Founder of NeoGrowth, Jim Polan, Vice President of Small and Medium Enterprises at OPIC, and R. Gurumurthy, Head Risk and Governance at RBL Bank.
Seated (L-R): Piyush Khaitan, Managing Director & Founder of NeoGrowth, Jim Polan, Vice President of Small and Medium Enterprises at OPIC, and R. Gurumurthy, Head Risk and Governance at RBL Bank.

OPIC, RBL bank and NeoGrowth sign commitment for financing retail businesses in India.
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) which is the US Government’s development finance institution, RBL Bank and NeoGrowth Credit Pvt. Ltd. have come together to provide finance to small and medium enterprises operating in the Indian retail space.

RBL Bank’s financing to NeoGrowth, made possible by a $5 million loan guarantee by OPIC under their Portfolio for Impact (PI) program, will enable large number of small businesses in India avail much needed finance for their business requirements.

“OPIC is committed to helping underserved small businesses gain access to the loans they need to grow their businesses,” said Elizabeth L. Littlefield, OPIC President and CEO. The OPIC guarantee will allow NeoGrowth to provide loans ranging in size from $3,000 to $120,000 to retail SMEs, which will have a positive impact on job creation and economic growth in India.
NeoGrowth’s use of innovative technology to finance the small businesses , backed by a unique underwriting system have helped various retail business grow their business and come into the mainstream financial assistance process , from which they had been deprived either because of inadequate credit history or lack of collaterals.

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“We were wondering how to mobilise additional resources to lend to our customers, and the OPIC loan guarantee backed arrangement with RBL Bank will help extend our reach and serve many more customers,” said Piyush Khaitan, Founder and Managing Director of NeoGrowth.
Vishwavir Ahuja, Managing Director & CEO, RBL Bank, said, “We are very happy to partner with OPIC – one of the world’s leading development financial institutions in further expanding our existing relationship with NeoGrowth – a Non – Banking Finance Company with an innovative business model dedicated to financing the small & medium (SME) business enterprises in India.”

NeoGrowth’s business outlook is best summarized in the words of our MD, Piyush Khaitan “Over 50% of small businesses in India are denied credit using traditional creditassessment, and NeoGrowth reaches out to them. Enabling first-time borrowers and women entrepreneurs is an area of special focus for NeoGrowth”. This coming together of OPIC, RBL Bank and NeoGrowth will further help boost the cycle of growth in India.