Expanding Micro and SME Lending in Semi-Urban and Rural Areas Project (ADB-50191-001)

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 31, 2016
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
Au Financiers (India) Limited
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 75.00 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.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 75.00 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 Jul 1, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Dec 15, 2016

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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.

This project provides debt financing to Au Financiers Limited. The funding supports growth in micro and small enterprises and small and medium enterprises portfolios to reach underserved customer segments.

As stated on the project disclosure page, ADB will provide debt financing to AU by subscribing to up to $75 million (in Indian rupee equivalent) of senior unsecured nonconvertible debentures (NCDs) having recourse to AU's balance sheet. At least 50% of the funding will target less developed states, as classified in the Raghuram Rajan Panel Report, 2013.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The ADB categorized the project E&S risks as follows:

Environment - FI;
Involuntary Resettlement - FI-C;
Indigenous Peoples - FI-C.
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.

As stated on the company's website, Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, a merit-holder Chartered Accountant and a first-generation entrepreneur, took it upon himself the responsibility of financing the entrepreneurship aspirations of the unreached and unbanked masses of India. The desire was turned into reality and in 1996, Au Financiers, was established. Headquartered in Jaipur, Rajasthan, the retail-focused Non-Banking Finance Company for two decades provided speedy and customised financial solutions to rural and urban population.

After bagging the Small Finance Bank (SFB) license in 2015, Au Financiers commenced its journey as an SFB on 19th April 2017. In the same year, it got the Scheduled Bank status on 1st November and became a Fortune India 500 Company.


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.

Au Financiers (India) Limited

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