CRISIL, IFMR Trust, ICICI Foundation signs MoU

CRISIL, ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth (ICICI Foundation) and IFMR Trust, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at developing viable commercial enterprises that have a focus on helping low-income households, enabling such households to meaningfully augment their incomes and create assets.

Under the agreement, CRISIL will develop evaluation frameworks for microfinance institutions, urban local bodies, and vocational training institutes, enabling better analysis and a deeper understanding of these entities. CRISIL will also publish and disseminate rating criteria for such entities. IFMR Trust will facilitate this process by providing access to enterprises working in these areas and ICICI Foundation will play a role in ensuring wide dissemination of these products developed under this MoU.

Present at the occasion, Ms. Roopa Kudva, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, CRISIL Limited, said, "We are delighted to partner ICICI Foundation and IFMR Trust. Our rating products will enable microfinance institutions and urban local bodies to access funding from mainstream investors and lenders; vocational training institutes can use these ratings to build credibility and improve placements for their students.” 

Commercial projects in the areas of rural development and poverty alleviation have typically been characterised by a lack of adequate structuring, and by inadequate risk mitigation; sponsors often fail to appreciate the risks inherent to these projects. As a result, such projects do not find funding at reasonable cost, thereby impairing their chances of commercial success. CRISIL, with its rich experience in developing rating criteria for financial products, projects, and services, is ideally placed to design and develop criteria and rating standards for these institutions and enterprises.

Dr.Nachiket Mor, President, ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth, said, “The most important element of ICICI Foundation’s strategy to achieve its mission is to ensure that mainstream markets can be made more responsive to the needs of the poor.  IFMR Trust is an entity that is completely focussed on this task.  ICICI Foundation is very pleased to facilitate the partnership between CRISIL and IFMR Trust.  It is our belief that this partnership will make it possible for both these entities to develop new models that will significantly expand the set of market based opportunities available to low income households.”

Also present, Ms.Bindu Ananth, President, IFMR Trust said, "This collaboration will tremendously accelerate financial markets access for a variety of emergent asset classes including microfinance, SME/rural supply chain finance and municipal finance. IFMR Trust will work with CRISIL to develop market standards for these asset classes and partner with ICICI Foundation to disseminate and train a broad set of market participants. This partnership represents an important step forward for IFMR Trust in its mission of ensuring that every individual and every enterprise has complete access to financial services. It is our privilege to be associated with CRISIL and ICICI Foundation, both thought leaders in their fields."

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