US NGO partners with MetLife to provide microfinance in UP

Grameen Foundation US has partnered with MetLife Foundation to provide savings and other services to at least 40,000 poor and women clients in Uttar Pradesh.

To be executed over the next two years by Grameen Foundation India (GFI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Grameen Foundation, will provide savings and other services to at least 40,000 poor, women clients in Uttar Pradesh, a media release said.

"Given the evolution of the business correspondent space in India and concurrent developments in the microfinance industry post the Andhra Pradesh crisis, we believe that it is an opportune time for microfinance institutions to adopt this channel for their growth and sustainability," said Tarun Chugh, managing director & CEO of MetLife India.

Grameen Foundation India has partnered with MetLife Foundation to advance financial inclusion in Uttar Pradesh.

"We are excited to partner with Grameen Foundation to further this agenda by showcasing a viable, sustainable and replicable business model based on the business correspondent delivery channel.

"We expect that such a business model will provide a wide array of appropriate and affordable financial services to low-income households, and contribute to the larger financial inclusion goals of MetLife Foundation," he said.

"We are pleased that it is now supporting our goal to strengthen the business correspondent model, which can play a huge role in addressing challenges in access to financial services and facilitate the success of India's ambitious financial inclusion agenda," said Chandni Ohri, CEO of Grameen Foundation India.

GFI will help an Indian microfinance institution, Margdarshak, transform itself from an organisation focused on credit alone into a sustainable and scalable business correspondent (BC) of a commercial bank, report said.

Drawing on its extensive experience in launching and scaling similar channel innovations, GFI will work with Margdarshak to strengthen their institutional capacity specifically around change leadership, business process management as well as IT solutions and generating client level insights.