Since 2008 Saija Finance Private Limited, a nonbanking finance company with total assets of INR 11 million (equivalent to USD 240,000), has been providing microfinance services in the Indian state of Bihar, which according to a report by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), has a credit-demand supply gap of 96 percent.

According to S.R. Sinha, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Saija, the attendance rate of Saija’s customers at loan meetings is 80 to 85 percent in Bihar, and clients have had zero defaults on loans. He additionally said that by 2011, he expects Saija to have 20 branches and 60,000 clients in India.

By Julia Korn, Research Associate

About Saija Private Limited:

Saija Finance Private Limited is a Non Banking Finance Company that provides microfinance services to the poor in Northern India. Founded in April 2008, it aims to cater specifically to the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Saija claims to have 2860 borrowers, total loans disbursed equivalent to USD 1.2 million, a gross portfolio equivalent to USD 256,597 and total assets of INR 11 million (equivalent to USD 240,000) as of 2010.

About the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD):

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is a development bank in India that formulates the credit and banking policy for the rural sector, supervises and conducts on-site inspections of cooperatives and regional rural banks and promotes the development of microfinance activities in the rural sector. NABARD is charged with the oversight of the Microentreprise Development Programme (MEDI), which focuses exclusively on the development of microenterprises. In 2010, NABARD set a target of INR 3,750 billion (USD 80.3 billion) for credit disbursement via commercial banks, state cooperative banks, state cooperative agriculture and rural development banks, and other eligible financial institutions, for the fiscal year, up from INR 3,250 billion (USD 69.6 billion) the previous year.

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Microfinance Focus. “Microfinance in Bihar performs beyond expectations” on July 26, 2010. http://www.microfinancefocus.com/news/2010/07/26/microfinance-in-bihar-p…

MicroCapital Universe. Saiji Private Limited. http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Sai…

MicroCapital Universe. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Nat…

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/