SLCM Group rope in over 19,000 women entrepreneurs in agriculture under Kissandhan

NEW DELHI, 12 May 2023: In another major development, SLCM Group has announced that it has disbursed more than INR 84.80 Crore to over 19,000 women entrepreneurs till FY22-23 through Kissandhan's BC (Business Correspondent) Partnership Lending Programme'.

The company has onboarded about 10,000 women beneficiaries in the last five months, which not only exhibits a substantial increase in the program's reach but also indicates the growing scope for women farmers to improve their social and economic stability.

Sandeep Sabharwal, CEO of SLCM Group, said, "We strive to significantly impact the lives of small farm holders and their families. During our analysis, we observed that women's participation in the agriculture and allied sectors is still meagre, mainly due to a lack of access to credit and empowerment to establish stability. We also noticed women lack decision-making power despite owning land in their name. Women in agriculture earn only 70% of men's wages, which strongly indicates gender inequality in this space. The launch of Kissandhan Agri Finance business unit is intended to address this pressing issue and ensure that women in our country lead a socially and financially stable life."

Naresh Kumar, Chief Business Officer, Kissandhan, said, "Crossing the milestone of 19,000+ women loan beneficiaries is a proud moment for all of us at SLCM Group. We aim to double this number in the coming times. Kissandhan is our way of recognizing women farmers for the hard work they do for their livelihood. This underlines our commitment to empowering women through access to adequate capital."

‘Business Correspondents (BCs)” are representatives appointed by banks/financial Institutions who act as their agents and provide financial services in remote locations where banks are not present. The average ticket size of such loans is INR 40,000 per borrower.

Till now, Kissandhan has managed to disburse an amount of INR 80 CR. to help the women beneficiaries. Till date, Kissandhan has disbursed loan of more than INR 2700 Crores and impacted about 600,000 plus farmers, Agri traders, Agri Processors, etc.

Sohan Lal Commodity Management (SLCM), India’s leading comprehensive service provider in the global post-harvest space for agricultural commodities.

Kissandhan serves farmers, joint liability groups, small and medium-sized enterprises, commodity traders, processors, exporters, importers, and other Agri intermediary in India.