Svatantra plans to have 190 branches

Mumbai-based microfinance company Svatantra Microfinance plans to expand its footprint to around 190 branches spread across 10-12 states, from the 85 units it has at present. The medium-scale MFI also looks to build up a balance sheet of Rs 500 crore over the next two years.

“We have seen a compound annual growth rate of 220 per cent since inception, and have already touched five states,” said Ananya Birla, founder of Svatantra Microfinance. “We plan to expand in scale and make the business more sustainable through the use of technology.”

The company launched a smartphone-based digitised solution named ‘Saathi’ which will digitise the process starting from loan origination, loan management to disbursals and collection. The company’s director Vineet Chattree said they were open to both organic and inorganic expansion growth. It currently serves 2 lakh beneficiaries and operates in 11,000 villages.

“We are evaluating products like individual lending, affordable home finance and even small and medium enterprise lending products,” he said. Svatantra is currently funded by nine financial institutions, including public and private sector banks and NBFCs.