Where we work

South Asia
• Bangladesh
• India
◦ ASA
    ◦ CASHPOR
    ◦ CCD
    ◦ ESAF
    ◦ Grameen Koota
    ◦ SHARE
    ◦ SKS
    ◦ Sonata
    ◦ D. Ellevva's story
    ◦ Pentamma's story
• Pakistan

East and Southeast Asia

Latin America / Caribbean

Middle East / North Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa

United States

Grameen Foundation : Where we work : South Asia : India : SKS

Swayam Krishi Sangam (SKS)

Status snapshot as of March 2008
Active clients	1,879,258
Loan portfolio (USD)	$245,730,131
Portfolio At Risk >30 days*	0.3%
* Value of all loans outstanding that have one or more installments past due more than 30 days

Newsflash - as of January 31, 2007, SKS has reached 500,000 clients. This is a milestone that few microfinance institutions have reached today.

SKS Microfinance began providing microloans in June 1998. Founded in 1997 by Dr. Vikram Akula, the incumbent chairman and CEO, SKS Microfinance's mission is to "empower communities to become self-reliant by providing financial services in a sustainable manner." SKS started operating in the Medak District of the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, India and currently has its presence in 11 states in India. In addition to providing financial services, SKS also operates an education and nutrition program for underprivileged preschoolers and a sustainable agriculture project. SKS Microfinance also launched what is known as the “Jump Start” preschool program in an effort to provide comprehensive education, health, and nutrition services to underprivileged preschool children. SKS Microfinance spun off its microfinance activities in 2005 and set up a non-banking finance company named SKS Microfinance Limited to provide financial services to the poor. The other community development activities are planned to continue under SKS Microfinance.

Outreach:

From 11 branches, 30,763 clients and a portfolio of $2.7 million in March 2004, SKS Microfinance grew rapidly to 80 branches, 249,551 clients and a portfolio of $24.6 million by June 2006, and by January 2007 they reached 500,000 clients. SKS Microfinance has been growing consistently at an annual growth rate of over 100 percent, and plans to reach out to more than 4.5 million poor families by March 2010 with 1,015 branches and a portfolio of $532 million.

Grameen Foundation support:

Grameen Foundation has provided approximately $790,000 to SKS Microfinance in loans and guarantees leveraging more than $9.7 million from commercial banks. SKS Microfinance was the recipient of Grameen Foundation’s Excellence Award in 2005.

Awards:

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP) selected SKS Microfinance for the prestigious Pro-Poor Innovation Challenge Award for SKS's initiative to introduce smart cards and hand-held computers at the village level. SKS Microfinance was one of four organizations in the world to receive the award of $50,000. SKS Microfinance also received CGAP’s award for financial transparency and process excellence award of Planet Finance and ABN Amro Bank in 2005 and 2006. Dr. Vikram Akula was named as one of “the people who shape our world” by TIME magazine for 2006. A few other awards include a runner-up position at the University of California at Berkeley’s Social Venture Capital Business Plan competition; Digital Partners SEL Award Winner, Stockholm Challenge Finalist; and the World Bank Development Marketplace Semi-Finalist.

Learn more at: www.sksindia.com

Grameen Foundation : Where we work : South Asia : India : SKS