SK Finance Supporting Financing for Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Electric Vehicles Project (ADB-58140-001)

Regions
  • South Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • India
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
C
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Oct 15, 2024
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
SK Finance Limited
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Finance
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 100.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Mar 18, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Oct 15, 2024

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

The proposed project involves an ADB loan of up to $100 million to SKF (SK Finance Limited) to support financing to MSMEs, including WMSMEs, and EV buyers.

The project will contribute to ADB country partnership strategy for India 2023-2027 strategic pillar 2: climate-resilient green growth which includes transport decarbonization and strategic pillar 3: deepen social and economic inclusiveness with focus on the underserved or underserved segments.

The project is aiming for gender equity theme (GEN) gender categorization.

Use of proceeds will be limited to MSME loans for expansion or improvement of small businesses such as grocery shops, tailoring, salons, handicrafts, milk collection and agricultural trading ranging from INR 50,000 to INR 4,000,000, and purchase of electric vehicles ranging from INR 35,000 to INR 135,000. SK Finance will also not finance through ADB proceeds any activity that would result to physical or economic displacement. SK Finance has an existing ESMS which includes screening and categorization procedure and exclusion list. However, this will be enhanced to fully align with ADB SPS. On Indigenous Peoples, the project will be categorized as FI-C. SK Finance has committed not to use ADB proceeds to finance subloans that will have impacts to distinct and vulnerable Indigenous Peoples.

The main stakeholders of the project are SK Finance employees, MSME borrowers and their employees, SK Finance clients who take loans for the purchase of electric vehicles, and communities that may be affected by the use of loan proceeds. Due to the nature of the project, there will be limited opportunity to involve stakeholders in the project’s design. However, SK Finance management and employees will be involved in ESMS enhancements to fully comply with ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement and Social Protection Requirements. Stakeholder engagement will be geared towards information dissemination while the external grievance redress mechanism can serve as a venue to provide feedback to SK Finance.

 

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

SK Finance Limited is an operator of a non-banking financial company intended to serve micro, small, and medium enterprises. The company offers an extensive range of financial services in the form of loans, financial planning, and management, as well as it also supports in setting up of small businesses, allowing customers with end-to-end and secured financial assistance from expert employees of the company. (Source: https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/169640-47#overview)


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.
Responsible ADB Officer: Oli, Nikunj
Responsible ADB Division: Private Sector Financial Institutions Division
Responsible ADB Department: Private Sector Operations Department

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.

How it works

How it works