- As at the end of first quarter of the current financial year, SME loans worth Rs 114 crore have been disbursed in Gujarat and the overall SME loans portfolio of LTF in Gujarat stood at Rs 358 crore
- The company would also be working towards increasing its direct channel offerings – through its Direct to Customer (D2C) application – the PLANET app
- This product from L&T Finance primarily caters to small businesses and practicing professionals like doctors, chartered accountants etc., and disburses collateral-free loans of up to Rs 50 lakh
- The average ticket size of SME loans currently stands at Rs 24 lakh in Gujarat
GOWRI MANICKAVASAGAM
AHMEDABAD, AUG 5
L&T Finance (LTF), one of the leading Non-Banking Financial Companies of the country, supporting the growth of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), has disbursed SME loans of Rs 436 crore in the first year since the launch of the SME Finance business in Gujarat on July 1, 2022. These loans represent a significant milestone in the Company’s ongoing mission to foster entrepreneurship, drive innovation and contribute to the overall development of the state of Gujarat.
As at the end of first quarter of the current financial year, SME loans worth Rs. 114 crore have been disbursed in Gujarat and the overall SME loans portfolio of LTF in Gujarat stood at Rs 358 crore. Gujarat contributes to nearly 20 percent of the overall loan book. The key markets in Gujarat contributing to this growth include Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bharuch, Anand, Vapi, Morbi, Mehsana, Jamnagar and Gandhidham. The average ticket size of SME loans currently stands at Rs. 24 lakh in Gujarat.
Speaking on the occasion, Raju Dodti, Chief Executive – Wholesale and SME Finance, L&T Finance said, “In our economy Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have emerged as a highly dynamic, vibrant, and growth-oriented sector. Gujarat is an important market for L&T Finance as it has highest number of registered SMEs of around 13 lakhs. Keeping our Lakshya 2026 goals in mind to become a ‘Fintech@Scale, we offer our SME loans digitally to our customers. The entire end to end journey of availing the loan is digital from applying for the loan by a customer to actual disbursement of the loan by L&T Finance. Currently, L&T Finance is offering SME loans across 12 locations in Gujarat.”
“The SME Finance business, which was launched as a pilot in cities of Mumbai and Pune during FY22, has witnessed a steady pickup of business in the last financial year. The business works towards addressing the working capital needs of self-employed professionals and businesses and carries forward the Lakshya 2026 goal of establishing L&T Finance as a top-class digitally enabled retail finance company. In contrast to market practice, the company has positioned its offering as an entirely paperless process – building upon its existing strong digital and data analytics capabilities. Thus, in a market where Small and Medium Enterprises need predictability of cash flows, L&T Finance is able to provide an instant approval or rejection update on the loan application. The end-to-end digital process has also allowed the company to offer a differential turnaround time to its customers besides aiding a faster expansion of distribution channel,” Dodti added.
With a guiding principle of keeping the needs of the customer at the core, the company would also be working towards increasing its direct channel offerings – through its Direct to Customer (D2C) application – the PLANET app – this financial year. Over 44 lakh customers have downloaded this app.
This product from L&T Finance primarily caters to small businesses and practicing professionals like doctors, chartered accountants etc., and disburses loans of up to Rs. 50 lakh. Small and medium businesses and professionals can apply for the loan either digitally through the company’s website or email or by physically visiting the nearest L&T Finance branch.
At the end of the first quarter ended June 30, 2023, the Company has disbursed SME loans worth Rs 607 crore recording 8x growth year-on-year. During the same period the SME loans portfolio stood at Rs 1,759 crore, up 13x year-on-year.
SME loans are primarily targeted at self-employed professionals like doctors, chartered accountants etc. and self-employed non-professionals like those engaged in businesses across industries in manufacturing, trading and services. The loans can be availed without any collateral and with minimal documentation through a seamless process.
