GFSPL gets a Social Rating of ‘Σα-’ (alpha minus) as well as a Truelift Certification of ‘Achiever’ level by
M-CRIL, and receives Smart Campaign certification award from the hands of Rural Development Minister
Mr. Jairam Ramesh
This year end has been quite eventful for GFSPL as after receiving Rs.50 Cr through non-convertible
debentures (NCDs) from Triodos Investment Management, Netherlands and getting upgraded to mfR2 by CRISIL
Ratings, in the same month Grameen Financial Services Private Limited’s (GFSPL) efforts were acknowledged
by more of reputed rating companies.
GFSPL, popularly known as Grameen Koota, received a Social Rating of ‘Σα-’ (alpha minus) by M-CRIL, as
recognition of its strong social commitment, good systems and adherence to social mission and values. As
shared by M-CRIL, in the last 2 years only GFSPL has received ‘Σα-’ rating in India and there is no other
institution even globally which has received ‘Σα+’ so far.
“Grameen Koota continues to service the women from poor & low income households in a socially responsible
and transparent manner. Success of our clients will be the success of Grameen Koota” stated Mr. Suresh
Krishna, Managing Director of GFSPL.
As the triumph continues, in the month of December 2013 GFSPL was awarded with its Truelift Certification,
again by M-CRIL, acknowledging it at ‘Achiever level’ out of the four Truelift milestones, for its commitment
to pro-poor microfinance practices. True lift through this certification not only recognized the efforts made
by GFSPL to put welfare of clients at the centre of microfinance but also demonstrated that the institution is
responsible, effective and committed towards bringing about total financial inclusion to promote inclusive
growth and poverty alleviation. M-CRIL conducted the True lift Assessment using the tool developed by True
Lift to form an opinion of an MFI’s performance.
Speaking on this achievement delighted Chairperson of GFSPL, Mrs Vinatha M Reddy, expressed, “The past one
month has been quite overwhelming as GFSPL has received so many recognitions for its various services
catering to a wide range of vulnerable segments of our society. This certification recognizes the contributions
our organization makes towards financial inclusion. This wouldn’t have been possible without the consistent
guidance from our Board members and persistent efforts of our staff members, so the credit goes to them.”
In the same month, Mr. Suresh Krishna, MD, GFSPL and Mr. Udaya
Kumar, CEO, GFSPL were honoured with the Smart Campaign
certification award which was handed over by our Rural
Development Minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh, at an event hosted by
the Smart Campaign in Delhi which included a panel discussion on
the significance and importance for client protection titled,
"Client Protection for Financial Inclusion: The Way Forward in
India".
About Grameen Financial Services Private Limited:
Grameen Financial Services Private Limited (GFSPL), popularly known as Grameen Koota (GK), is a
Microfinance Institution which serves around 4.42 Lakh members with the support from 1444 employees
working in 161 branches spread across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. As of 30th November 2013, the
portfolio outstanding of Grameen Koota stood at Rs 52,197 Lakhs. Grameen Koota, one of the 6 financial
institutions in world and one of the 3 MFI’s in India to have been honoured by Smart Campaign for having met
all the client protection principles, has over 14 years of micro-lending experience in working with Joint
Liability Groups formed exclusively of women belonging to poor and low income households by providing
them with its diverse financial and developmental services that caters to life-cycle needs which includes
products for Income Generation and access to Water, Sanitation, Education, Health Care, Energy Efficient
Cook Stove etc.
For more information, visit www.gfspl.in
About Truelift:
With the growth of microfinance sector, the focus has been increasingly on achieving scale of operations and
financial performance. Truelift (rebranded from the pro-poor Seal of Excellence) is a global initiative to
renew focus on the pro-poor objective of microfinance.
It is a trust mark in microfinance and beyond to signify commitment to positive and enduring change for
people living in poverty. It focuses on the outcomes for the people living in poverty to build their own
pathways toward improved living conditions with the right financial and other services. The mark will
accomplish this through benchmarking and sharing effective best practices and promoting a learning
community among all stakeholders – differentiating those that are truly acting in the service of those living in
poverty from other microfinance providers. The Truelift mark recognizes effectively pro-poor MFIs and
substantiates the work of those MFIs able to provide evidence of significant outreach and positive outcomes
for people living in poverty, attracting social impact investors and donors seeking to meet poverty reduction
goals.
About M-CRIL:
M-CRIL is a global leader in the financial rating of microfinance institutions and in sectorial advisory services.
They aim to have a stimulated sector growth and depth of outreach and impact of initiatives for financial
inclusion on a worldwide basis. They provide insightful assessments backed by a uniquely detailed knowledge
and understanding of best practices, methodologies and tools.
M-CRIL has played a pioneering global role to develop a systematic methodology for social rating. This has
been a significant step as part of M-CRIL’s commitment to support the microfinance sector, reflecting the
social values associated with microfinance operations and investment, and providing a robust and relatively
quick means to define and report on social performance.
