Source: Business Standard.
Search Results for: "SKS Microfinance"
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Indian SKS Microfinance Plans to Raise $30m in Equity; Possible Future IPO
To finance its ambitious expansion plans, for-profit microlender SKS Microfinance has announced it plans to raise RUP 1.3 billion (USD 30.3 million) in equity capital through private investors, hoping to increase its equity base from roughly USD 50 to 80 million. SKS’ management plans to use the new funds to double its current customer base of 500,000 over the next two years. To meet its equity target, SKS added that it may induct a new investor onto its balance sheet.
NEWS WIRE: India: SKS Microfinance Joining with Nokia, Airtel to Offer Cheap Cell Phones
Source: Business Standard.
NEWS WIRE: India: SKS Microfinance to Push Urban Microcredit
Source: Moneycontrol.com.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: ING Review of Citigroup’s Microfinance Activities and Its Syndicated Loan Securitizations for Compartamos, SKS Microfinance, and BRAC
The Dutch Bank ING published its updated 2008 study on commercial bank microfinance activity, called “A Billion to Gain? The Next Phase”. A MicroCapital summary of the paper can be read here. MicroCapital is reviewing the microfinance activities of several of large international banks covered in the study, such as Citigroup (Citi).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: SKS Microfinance Looks to Offer Microinsurance Products with Bajaj Allianz Life
Indian microfinance institution (MFI), SKS Microfinance (SKS) announced it will partner with Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company to provide its members with a group insurance product. The product will be distributed by SKS and- according to the CEO of Bajaj Allianz Mr. Kamesh Goyal- will give Bajaj Allianz access to the micro-insurance market.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: India-Based Compulink Sees 1.8 Percent Uptick in Share Price After Announcing Contract to Provide SKS Microfinance of India With Software and Networking Systems
Compulink and SKS Microfinance, both from India, recently entered into a contract wherein Compulink will provide SKS with its entire suite of business applications. The new system will utilize Compulink’s proprietary “Whizible” framework on top of Microsoft’s Net Platform to link all 650 SKS branches using a set of web-based applications. The contract covers all of SKS’s core businesses including microcredit, microinsurance and health insurance as well as providing new accounting systems and a centralized IT infrastructure.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: SKS Microfinance Raises $37 Million in Equity Sale
SKS Microfinance of Hyderabad, India, recently raised 147 Crore Rupees, the equivalent of over USD 37 million, through its third round of equity sales in recent months. Investors include Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) of California, Columbia Pacific, Sequoia Capital of California, Vinod Khosala of California, and Odyssey Capital.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: SKS Microfinance Expands into Kerala, India with Two Branches
SKS Microfinance Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), launched operations in Kerala, marking it as the fifteen state in which SKS is active. According to SKS Chief Operating Officer M.R. Rao, Kerala has been targeted on SKS’ growth map for a while because of the demographics of its inhabitants, who are largely dependent on fishery and handicrafts as primary sources of income in a state where 360,000 of 1,900,000 total poor households are headed by women.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microfinance Debate Featured on BusinessWeek.com, Vikram Akula of SKS Microfinance and Chuck Waterfield of Microfin Weigh In
Following an article in the December 13 edition of Business Week entitled “The Ugly Side of Microlending,” Business Week’s website now features a point-counterpoint which asks the question: Does microfinance helps low-income entrepreneurs in developing economies more than it hurts them? Vikram Akula of Indian microfinance bank SKS Microfinance Private Ltd. argues in favor of the proposition, while Chuck Waterfield of Microfin argues that the banks are generally more harmful than beneficial to low-income entrepreneurs. The core issue of the debate centers on whether the banks are usurious in the interest rates they charge.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Bear, Stearns & Co. and SKS Microfinance’s Vikram Akula, Bring Microfinance Event to New York City on July 9, 2007
SCALING MICROFINANCE: THE SKS ACCELERATION MODEL
JULY 9, 2007, 6:30-8:30 PM, NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES
Bear, Stearns & Co., a US investment, trading, and brokerage company, will host this presentation led by Vikram Akula, founder and CEO of SKS Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI). The event will focus on “the SKS Acceleration Model,” a business strategy that Mr. Akula argues has led to his company’s growth over the past several years.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: SKS Microfinance, India, and Citibank Announce USD 44mm Financing Programme with Support from Grameen Foundation
Indian microfinance institution (MFI) SKS Microfinance, has announced a USD 44mm (Rupees 1.8bn) financing partnership with Citibank, part of the Citigroup global financial services organisation. Citibank India will purchase loans which SKS will continue to originate and service, sharing the credit risk of the transaction. Grameen Foundation will also be an integral part of the risk sharing structure as it will provide a limited (but as of yet unstated) guarantee to SKS as part of its Growth Guarantee initiative launched in 2005. SKS has been a Grameen Foundation partner since 2002.
CEO’s from Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and SKS Microfinance to be Keynote Speakers at Chicago Microfinance Conference, May 25th 2007
This year’s third annual Chicago Microfinance Conference (CMFC), ‘The Road Ahead, Innovation, Integration, Impact,’ will feature keynote addresses by Elizabeth Littlefield, CEO Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a consortium of 33 public and private development agencies based in Washington DC, and Vikram Akula, CEO, SKS Microfinance, and Indian microfinance institution (MFI). Established by the University of Chicago, Kellogg School of Management, and Harris School of Public Policy Studies, the conference, to be held on May 25th 2007, aims to “advance strategic debate of the future of microfinance” and brings together practitioners, academics and industry leaders.
Sequoia Capital Leads USD 11.5mm Investment in SKS Microfinance based in India
Sequoia Capital, a private equity fund founded in 1972 and based in California, will lead an USD 11.5mm investment into SKS (Swayam Krishi Sangam) Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in India. Other stakeholders in the investment include Unitus, a USD 23mm US equity fund established in 2000 to provide funding and consultancy to MFI’s.
Continue reading “Sequoia Capital Leads USD 11.5mm Investment in SKS Microfinance based in India”
MICROCAPITAL STORY: SKS Microfinance Expands into Kerala, India with Two Branches
SKS Microfinance Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) launched operations in Kerala, marking it as the fifteen state in which SKS is active. According to SKS Chief Operating Officer M.R. Rao, Kerala has been targeted on SKS’ growth map for a while because of the demographics of its inhabitants, who are largely dependent on fishery and handicrafts as primary sources of income in a state where 360,000 of 1,900,000 total poor households are headed by women.
Sun Microsystems founder, Vinod Khosla, Leads Charge in India’s Largest Microfinance Equity Investment to Date, Joining with Unitus and Others in Investing US$2.5 million in SKS Microfinance
Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW) founder and Chief Executive Officer, Vinod Khosla, lead a group of investors today in committing US$2.5 million to SKS Microfinance of India. Founded in 1998, SKS Microfinance reported having a loan portfolio of US$7,604,876 and total assets of US$9,130,885 as of March 31, 2005. Since then, that portfolio has grown to over US$14 million. The bank’s 42 branches and 400+ employees serve women in India’s poorest regions, in particular, the drought plagued Deccan Region. Though it has yet to report a profit, SKS Microfinance has brought its return on equity up from -55.85% in 2000 to only -0.06% in the first quarter of 2005. With annual growth pegged consistently at around 250%, a positive return should be just around the corner.
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) Makes over $220,000 Microfinance Equity Investment in SKS Microfinance
On January 31, 2006, SIDBI made their first equity investment in a microfinance institution (MFI) by presenting two SKS Microfinance (SKS) clients with a check in the amount of $113,095. This represents half of SIDBI’s total investment amount of $226,192 corresponding to a 7% stake in SKS Microfinance (SKS). Although SIDBI has supported microfinance through loans and capacity building, this is their first direct equity investment.
Continue reading “Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) Makes over $220,000 Microfinance Equity Investment in SKS Microfinance”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IndusInd Bank Merges with Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (BFIL), Provider of Microfinance to Women in Rural India
IndusInd Bank, an India-based bank offering commercial and personal banking services, recently merged with Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (BFIL), an India-based, for-profit microfinance institution (MFI) formerly known as SKS Microfinance. IndusInd is assuming the assets and liabilities of BFIL, the