The Sampurna Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP), a nonprofit provider of microfinance and social services in India, recently borrowed INR 14 million (USD 200,000) from BNP Paribas, the France-based bank recently told MicroCapital. STEP, which is based in the city of Kolkata, also borrowed INR 10 million (USD 142,000) from BNP Paribas in 2018.
STEP clients are all women, mainly in urban areas. Established in 2010, STEP “firmly believe[s] that only providing access to finance is not enough for the holistic development of the disadvantaged families.” In addition to loans, it offers skills training, business counseling, health services and social support services. Its loans are designed for business, education, health needs and housing improvement. The business loans range in size from INR 1,000 (USD 14) to INR 50,000 (USD 710), with terms of up to two years, APRs as low as 28 percent per year and a 1-percent fee for insurance. It has eight branches, 11,000 borrowers and a loan portfolio of approximately INR 160 million (USD 2.3 million).
BNP Paribas, which was formed when Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) acquired a majority stake in Paribas in 1999, operates in 72 countries. As of December 2018, BNP Paribas had total assets of EUR 2.04 trillion (USD 2.29 trillion). As of 2019, it has EUR 300 million (USD 337 million) invested in microfinance institutions in low- and high-income countries, both directly and via several microfinance investment vehicles.
Sources and Additional Resources
Information provided directly from BNP Paribas to MicroCapital
STEP homepage
http://stepindia.in
BNP Paribas homepage
https://group.bnpparibas
BNP Paribas financials
https://invest.bnpparibas.com/en/consolidated-financial-statements
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