Ujjivan - Providing Financial Services to the Poor

Ujjivan Launches in Kerala – God’s Own Country

In January, Ujjivan entered Kerala – God’s Own Country with the opening of two branches: Palluruthy and Vypin, in Ernakulam district. Kerala, known for it’s highly literate population, empowered women, enjoying high levels of human development indices, beautiful landscapes, waterways and greenery, became the third state in the South where Ujjivan operates, after Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The warm welcome given by the District authorities and the established microfinance institutions gave us further encouragement to start our operations in the Ernakulam district. We have begun to receive positive responses from the potential customers. Customers are presently going through financial literacy training as part of the Compulsory Group Training. Our first loans would be disbursed in February.

Ujjivan Kerala Team

We will be exploring other areas in Kerala over the next few months and open branches in clusters based on the need for our products and services by our potential customers. In general, the customers in Kerala are financially knowledgeable and careful about their finances. We have come across cases where target customers ask for specifics on repayment amounts, do on the spot calculations and reduce the loan amount requested when they feel that they will not be able to repay. We will continue to acquire such quality customers and penetrate deeper into areas where there is a need for financial services amongst the poor in one of India's most densely populated states.