Microfinance loans

Loan amount

₹ 5,369 to ₹ 1 lakh

Tenure

12 to 30 Months

Rate of interest (p.a)

19.75% to 24.25%

Paving the path to prosperity for women entrepreneurs

Svatantra’s microfinance loans have been instrumental in promoting entrepreneurship, especially among the semi-urban and rural women, making them economically independent. Our microfinance loans create a supportive financial environment for individuals to easily start and grow their businesses, bringing economic stability to their lives and those around them.

Key features powering our entrepreneurs and our economy

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We provide one of the lowest interest rates in India.

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Services that enable rural and semi-urban women entrepreneurs to become agents of change within their communities.

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Customised solutions for entrepreneurs to achieve business goals and drive economic growth.

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A financial ecosystem that ensures every individual experiences a self-reliant future.

A quick guide to our loan fact sheet

Products	Loan amount	Tenure	Repayment option	Rate of interest (p.a)	Loan processing fee	Repayment charges
Microfinance loans	₹ 5,369 to ₹ 1 lakh	12 to 30 Months	Monthly	19.75% to 24.25%*	0.75% to 1.50% (+GST)	Nil
Individual Loans	₹ 1 lakh to ₹ 3 lakh	24 to 36 Months	Monthly	23%	2% (+GST)	2% (excluding GST) on principal amount outstanding as on date of payment
Insurance	Svatantra offers Credit Linked Insurance, a life insurance tailored to provide financial support to our women customers and their spouses. It ensures the family remains economically independent, especially in case of death of the insured person.

*Average rate of interest for Q4 FY24: 23.21%

Disclosure of Interest Rate icon

Customer Awareness on Overdue, SMA/ NPA

Take the six steps to economic self-sufficiency

Identification

Identify customers, especially rural women who benefit from loans through detailed surveys.

Training

Conduct workshops on financial literacy to ensure prospective customers develop money management skills.

Disbursement

Transfer money to bank accounts of the shortlisted customers who are starting a business or expanding existing ventures.

Formation

The field officers create groups of 5-12 people, primarily of women customers.

Group Appraisal

Implement a detailed application process to shortlist potential customers.

Repayment/Collection

Offer timely guidance and collection of the monthly loan instalments.

Common queries

What is microfinance?

Microfinance refers to a variety of affordable financial services that target low-income clients, living either on or below the poverty line, particularly women. It aims to empower these clients by providing them access to microcredit for income-generating activities, savings and insurance, and remittance services.

What is a microfinance institution (MFI)?

A Microfinance Institution (MFI) is an organisation that provides microfinance services such as microcredit and insurance services targeted to the poor. All MFIs share the common characteristic of providing these services to a clientele who are otherwise excluded from formal financial services.

How is Svatantra different from other MFIs?

Svatantra is one of the fastest growing MFIs in India. It is the first institution to receive the NBFC-MFI license which was introduced by the RBI in 2012. It is also the only institution that makes 100% cashless disbursements. Svatantra offers one of the lowest interest rates in the industry. Unlike other MFIs, innovation forms the core of business processes and is used as a tool to drive, optimize as well as expand business.

What is financial inclusion?

Financial inclusion or inclusive financing refers to delivering financial services at affordable costs to sections of disadvantaged and low-income households in society who are otherwise unable to avail formal financial services.

Who are microfinance clients?

Microfinance clients are either below or above the poverty line who otherwise do not have access to financial services from formal financial institutions such as banks. They may reside in either rural or urban areas but due to lack of proper documents or insufficient collateral security, are unable to utilise banking facilities.

Why is microfinance important for rural women?

As rural women are prone to discrimination due to prevalent beliefs and practices, microfinance was designed to improve their status within the family and community by giving them access to financial services, thus financial independence. Women availing microfinance activities tend to be more assertive, confident, own more assets and play a stronger role in decision-making & contributions in the family.

What is the rate of interest charged on the loan?

Svatantra Microfin Pvt. Ltd. offers one of the lowest interest rates in the country. Details on our interest rates https://svatantramicrofin.com/our-products/microfinance-loans

What is the recruitment process at Svatantra?

Identify Vacancy
Prepare Job Description and Person Specification
Publishing of Vacancy & Sourcing of CVs
Managing the Response
Screening & Short-Listing
Arranging for Functional Interview of Shortlisted Candidates
Decision Making
Reference Check (Except from Current Employer)
Compensation Fitment
Offer Roll-Out

What is the criteria to get a loan?

Clients must meet the following criteria to avail a loan:

Client should not have borrowed from more than one other MFI
Clients total indebtedness should not exceed ₹1,00,000
Client should have an income generating activity
Client should have documents (ID and address proof)
Client should have a bank account

Are microfinance institutions regulated?

Microfinance Institutions in India are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India through its master circulars pertaining to NBFC-MFIs. Based on the RBI Circular No: DNBS (PD) CC No: 395/03. 10. 38/2014-15

Why are the MFIs interest rates higher than traditional banks?

Interest rate in MFIs tend to be higher than loans from traditional banks because small loans tend to be more expensive to process than larger ones (as offered by traditional banks). Moreover, MFIs loans are collateral free and require a more hands-on and time-intensive assessment to determine the creditworthiness of a potential client. Microfinance clients tend to reside in remote areas and since MFIs travel to clients, there is also a high cost of operations which is also reflected in the interest rate for MFI loans

What customer protection measures exist for clients?

Concerns about negative impact of excessive interest rates, abusive lending practices and over-indebtedness and high multiple lending among poor borrowers have all led to the greater attention given to responsible financial practices and developing Client Protection Principles. The three main aspects of these are as follows:

Customer Protection, Regulation and Supervision to ensure customers are treated fairly and appropriately and that they understand the implications of their actions
Improve standards and codes of conduct with an emphasis on consistency
Financial Literacy training to make clients more informed so that they can become more responsible for their own financial welfare.

Can you share more details on the mediclaim?

The company offers affordable and comprehensive Mediclaim to its customer in partnership with a reputed third-party insurance company. This is one of a kind product offered by Svatantra and is tailor-made to the family of 5, including the client, parents, and parent in-laws of the rural household.

Do you only lend microloans to women?

Yes, at present Svatantra provides microloans to women for their livelihood earnings.

What is the difference between bank and microfinance?

Banks are financial institutions that provide banking and other financial services such as accepting deposits and providing loans to customers. On the other hand, MFIs’ mainly target underserved households in rural areas to access financial services such as very small loans (micro credit) to help them to invest in or scale up their small businesses.