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SKS Microfinance has joined hands with IBM MobileFirst to enhance the use of technology in its lending operations and to make processes paperless.
The partnership aims at reducing the time consumed in completing loan disbursal-related transactions, increasing staff productivity and customer acquisition.
The solution includes provision and deployment of 7,000 tablets across India (mainly in rural and semi-rural areas), a help desk to manage these devices and software and services to transform from paper-based to mobile digital services.
“Each loan officer now saves approximately one-and-a-half hours and serves more members per day. The Sangam manager, who heads a centre, is able to do six meetings a day as against the earlier five, registering a 20 per cent increase in field productivity and reducing concomitant costs,” SKS said in a statement.
A centre meeting, where women borrowers who are part of a group come together to discuss the progress achieved in utilising the loans and making repayments, takes around 45 minutes to conclude. But with the new technology, SKS has been able to bring down the time to 30 minutes.
The company has 5,456 loan officers operating out of 1,135 branch offices. A loan officer typically acquires new members, disburses loans and collects repayments.
SKS now has 4.5 million low-income women borrowers across all States, except Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
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