U GRO Capital, an Indian MSME lending fintech platform, has entered into a co-lending agreement with the Central Bank of India.

Under the partnership, the two parties aim to distribute up to INR 1,000 crores in the next 12 months to the varied MSME segments of U GRO Capital under its programs such as Pratham, Sanjeevani, GRO MSME, Saathi, and machinery financing.

The co-lending arrangement with Central Bank of India will involve offering formal credit to underserved MSMEs of U GRO Capital across all product categories at affordable rates. Central Bank of India will utilize the digital technology platform of U GRO Capital, which is driven by a Data Tripod of GST, Banking and Bureau, in addition to the latter’s vast sectoral understanding and its reach in multi-channel distribution.

Rajeev Puri — Executive Director of Central Bank of India said: “We believe this initiative will financially empower large section of MSME borrowers. We believe, Co–lending as a concept is picking up pace and would change the lending landscape of credit dissemination for MSMEs in India.

“This agreement is in line with the Central Bank of India’s objective to accelerate the credit to MSMEs in India and contribute towards the mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat by making credit available to MSMEs at an affordable cost.”

According to U GRO Capital, the collaboration has been facilitated by its GRO–Xstream platform, which by using APIs integrates with banks on one side and on the other with various fintechs, NBFCs, payments platforms, neobanks, market places as well as other digital platforms.

U GRO Capital said that the GRO–Xstream platform after being fully operational can unleash and democratize MSME credit in India by leveraging the prowess of banks’ on the liability side and the company along with its origination partners and its underwriting engine on the assets side.

Shachindra Nath — Executive Chairman and Managing Director of U GRO Capital said: “This arrangement is a reaffirmation of our underwriting methodology and the belief that the bank bestows in our vision of solving the credit needs of the MSMEs, using sectoral expertise and technology.

“This partnership would not only benefit U GRO but eventually benefit all the other FinTechs and NBFCs which are integrated with our GRO – Xstream platform. We look forward to nurturing this relationship towards supporting more MSMEs to enable their revival and growth.”

  Central Bank of India, India, Rajeev Puri, Shachindra Nath, U GRO Capital