Ramakrishna Competitors

There were many microfinance institutions active in rural India, but very few served India’s urban population. To bridge this gap, Ujjivan focused on the urban poor. This is a fast growing segment that is relatively new to India’s microfinance industry. Our surveys and interaction with the urban poor show that they are exposed to enormous contingencies and are required to share their meagre resources with neighbors, friends, relatives and colleagues. Hence, there is a tremendous amount of bonding and affinity among them. We have also found that, contrary to popular belief, the urban poor are a stable population. Therefore, the significant difference between the urban and rural population is the lack of time and availability of space in cities. Our primary target customers are women because research has shown that they are a better population segment for microfinance. They are proven to spend a larger portion of their money on the welfare of their family and therefore create systemic changes needed to move their families out of poverty. The lending alternatives for poor women, besides MFIs, are comprised of moneylenders and other high cost, typically unreliable services. Our strategy, products and distribution methods began based on the results of an 18 month pilot program and an extensive market research study, both based in Bangalore, and has evolved over the past three years based on our findings and experience in each of our regions. From our research and experience, we have found that income is not a reliable determinant to establish economic status of the urban poor, so we also consider a variety of factors other such as housing, occupation, education, expenditure etc. Unlike in rural areas, a substantial portion of the urban poor are employees with salary income, working in the unorganized sector as housemaids or cooks and the organized sector in factories, hospitals, offices and hotels. The self-employed are mainly vendors, small shopkeepers, tailors, etc

Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited is a 100% subsidiary of IndusInd Bank Limited with presence across 21 states covering 1,20,000 villages

Headquartered in Chennai, India, Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited is a SFB (Small Finance Bank) that commenced its business in 2017 and become the first Private Sector Bank from Tamil Nadu to start operations after the Indian independence. Equitas SFB is a New Age Bank that focusses on providing the children, youth, families and entrepreneurs across India with fun banking ways. Low-income households who do not have access to banks are mainly served by Equitas SFB. It has also been recognized and appreciated for its voluntary compliance to highest levels of corporate governance. Equitas SFB has 335 regional centers with approximately 13,473 employees and 240+ ATMs. It has been rated by CRISIL with a Governance of Value Creation (GVC) Rating of GVC Level 2, with only 6 other corporates in India at a higher level.