The company was incorporated as ‘Sanni Collection Private Limited (SCPL)’ on June 12, 1991 at Calcutta, West Bengal, India as a private limited company under the Companies Act, 1956. In February 2007, the entire shareholding of SCPL was acquired by Vinatha M. Reddy, Vijitha Subbaiah and Suresh K. Krishna, in their respective individual capacity. At the time of the acquisition, SCPL also held a certificate of registration as a non-deposit taking NBFC dated March 30, 1998. Subsequently, in October 2007, the microfinance business being operated under T. Muniswamappa Trust (TMT), a public charitable trust engaged in the business of providing micro loans in Karnataka (including all associated assets, liabilities, goodwill, receivables, loan assets and intellectual property, including the brand name Grameen Koota) was transferred to SCPL. The microfinance business being operated under TMT was established as a programme under the name Grameen Koota in 1999. Subsequent to the acquisition of SCPL and the transfer of the microfinance business of TMT to SCPL, SCPL was rebranded under the Grameen name, and pursuant to a resolution of the shareholders of SCPL, its name was changed from SCPL to ‘Grameen Financial Services Private Limited (GFSPL)’. A fresh certificate of incorporation consequent upon change of name by the Registrar of Companies, West Bengal on March 14, 2008, post which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted a certificate of registration dated July, 28, 2009 reflecting the change of name. Subsequently, the RBI granted a fresh certificate of registration dated February 6, 2012 for registration as an NBFC under Section 45 IA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The company was granted NBFC-Microfinance Institution (NBFC-MFI) status by the RBI with effect from September 5, 2013. Subsequently, pursuant to a resolution passed by the shareholders of company, the name of company was changed to ‘Grameen Koota Financial Services Private Limited’, and a fresh certificate of incorporation consequent upon change of name was issued by the RoC on November 13, 2014.

Further, a fresh certificate of registration consequent upon change of name was issued to company by the RBI on December 16, 2014. Subsequently, the company was converted into a public limited company pursuant to a special resolution passed by its Shareholders at the EGM held on November 27, 2017 and the name of company was changed to ‘Grameen Koota Financial Services Limited (GFSL)’. A fresh certificate of incorporation consequent upon conversion to a public limited company was issued by the RoC on December 18, 2017. Subsequently, pursuant to a resolution passed by the shareholders of company at the EGM held on January 2, 2018, the name of company was changed to ‘CreditAccess Grameen Limited’, and a fresh certificate of incorporation consequent upon change of name was issued by the RoC on January 12, 2018. Subsequently, the RBI granted a fresh certificate of registration dated January 19, 2018 as an NBFC under Section 45 IA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 under the name ‘CreditAccess Grameen Limited’.

The company provides loans primarily under the joint liability group (JLG) model. Its primary focus is to provide income generation loans to its customers. It also provides other categories of loans such as family welfare loans, home improvement loans and emergency loans to its existing customers. In 2016, with a view to diversifying its product profile, it introduced individual retail finance loans for customers who had been its customers for at least three years and fulfill certain other eligibility criteria linked primarily to their credit history with it, income, and business position. It offers these loans to customers to establish a new enterprise or expand an existing business in their individual capacity (for instance, for the purchase of inventories, machinery or two wheelers).

Business area of the company

CreditAccess Grameen is a leading Indian micro-finance institution headquartered in Bangalore, focused on providing micro-loans to women customers predominantly in Rural Areas in India. Its wide range of lending products addresses the critical needs of its customers throughout their life cycle and includes income generation, family welfare, home improvement and emergency loans. It focuses predominantly on customers in Rural Areas in India, who largely lack access to the formal banking sector and present a latent opportunity for offering micro-loans. Its products are built on a deep understanding of the requirements of its customers (especially customers from Rural Areas) and the flexibility of products (in terms of ticket sizes, end-uses and repayment options) and the manner of their delivery differentiates it from its competitors and generates customer loyalty.

Awards and Accreditations

• 2015: The company was awarded the Microfinance India Award - 2015 for Microfinance Organisation of the Year (large) by Access and HSBC.
• 2015: The company was awarded the Smart Campaign Client Protection Certification by the Smart Campaign.
• 2016: The company was awarded the COCA - 1 (Very High Level of Adherence) awarded by Smera Ratings Limited.
• 2017: The company was awarded the Skoch Award - Resilient India Award 2017 for Sanitation Loan by the Skoch Group.
• 2017: The company was awarded the ISC - FICCI Sanitation Award - Best Financial Accessibility for Sanitation by the FICCI.
• 2017: The company was rated as “ICRA A1” for Rs 200 Commercial Programme of company by ICRA Limited.
• 2018: The company was rated as “ICRA A” for Rs 2,013.27 crore credit limits by ICRA Limited.
• 2018: The company was rated as “ICRA A” for Rs 887 crore NCD Programme of company by ICRA Limited.
• 2018: ICRA Limited changed company's outlook rating from “stable” to “positive”.
• 2019: CreditAccess Grameen has been adjudged as the winner in the Best NBFC category at one of India's most prestigious financial sector awards - FE Best Banks awards 2017-18.
• 2019: Micro Finance Organization of the Year Award 2019.
• 2020: CNBC-AWAAZ CEO Awards 2019.

Major events and milestones

• 1991: The company was incorporated as Sanni Collection Private Limited.
• 1998: The company obtained NBFC registration.
• 2007: Acquired the microfinance business under the brand name “Grameen Koota” from TMT.
• 2008: Launched Mifos software in all branches.
• 2008: Commenced operations in Maharashtra.
• 2010: Raised Rs 576 million through securitization.
• 2011: Commenced integration with Credit Bureau for credit decisions.
• 2013: Granted NBFC - MFI license with effect from September 5, 2013.
• 2014: CAA acquired a majority stake in Company.
• 2015: Commenced operations in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
• 2015: Established seven regional processing centres across our Company’s operational geographies.
• 2015: Launched a core banking IT solution - T24.
• 2016: Introduced business loans facilities as part of the Retail Finance division of company.
• 2017: Grameen Koota partners with Artoo to develop digital lending model.
• 2017: Grameen Koota gets Rs 250 crore capital from CreditAccess Asia.
• 2018: Launched IPO.
• 2019: CreditAccess Grameen Strengthens Its Pan India Presence, Expands In Five New StatesView
• 2020: CreditAccess Grameen has completed the acquisition of 75.64% of equity share capital of Madura Micro Finance (MMFL) on March 18, 2020.