Intesa Sanpaolo increases to 2% its share in CreditAccess India

Increased to 2% Intesa Sanpaolo’s shareholding in CreditAccess India, a company active in the microcredit sector.

Why it matters? The lending granted by CreditAccess enables working autonomy that provides these small and micro-entrepreneurs full participation in the development of their families and the community.

What does CreditAccess India do? Active in granting loans to individuals unable to access traditional credit due to lack of collateral, CreditAccess mainly addresses women, providing them with sufficient resources to manage micro business activities – such as the sale of retail products, hand crafts and small-scale farming – considered essential parts of India’s economic engine.

Who is CreditAccess? Microcredit leader in India and among the top 10 worldwide. Currently:

• around 4.6 million customers
• 2,300 branches in India, the Philippines and Indonesia
• over €2 billion loan book
• 22,125 employees.

CreditAccess was founded in 2008 by Paolo Brichetti.

Principles that inspire CreditAccess? CreditAccess is inspired by the microfinance model created by Muhammad Yunus – 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner for having created modern microcredit with his Grameen Bank – guaranteeing liquidity to local populations without collateral.

CreditAccess business model: Over the years, CreditAccess has combined business sustainability with the objectives of financial inclusion and the development of unbanked rural areas of India, combining sustainable growth (both organic and external) with the ability to be a catalyst for the development of the most undeveloped areas of the country, offering quality employment (the company is ‘Great Place to Work’ certified and has more than 15,000 employees).

Stakeholders: CreditAccess India’s shareholders are many, including main shareholders Olympus Capital, Asia Impact Invest, Asian Development Bank and the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI).

From the press conference:

• “We are very pleased to have increased our stake in CreditAccess India, a world leader in the sector and an entity we firmly believe is capable of combining a strong set of values with long-term sustainable profitability, characteristics widely recognized by the market. We strongly believe that this commitment can and must be extended internationally to places such as India, providing work and economic autonomy to many women and their families, supporting the sustainable and inclusive growth of local businesses”.

Flavio Gianetti, Executive Director of M&A and Group Shareholdings

• “The increase in Intesa Sanpaolo’s shareholding in CreditAccess India is an extraordinarily positive element in our growth path, capable of creating value for all stakeholders thanks to the strategic, financial and technical contribution made by the Bank. We expect further strong growth in our activities and we maintain the goal of serving 10 million customers by the end of 2025. In this journey, the support of a Group with an international vision such as Intesa Sanpaolo is vital".

Paolo Brichetti, Founder and CEO of CreditAccess India