Agora Microfinance India Limited (AMIL)
AMIL is an urban microfinance institution based in Mumbai that provides small loans to the urban unbanked populations in Mumbai and nearby cities and towns. It operates within the framework of India’s regulations for NBFC-MFIs and is supervised by the Reserve Bank of India. Its clients are typically women who are residents of urban slum dwellings and are engaged in various unorganized livelihoods, such as working as housemaids/guards, engaged in small trading, or operating other small businesses. Working through a network of small branches located within the slum settlements, AMIL serves thousands of clients through simple loan products alongside affordable health insurance sold in partnership with insurance companies.
Profile
AMIL was the second greenfield created by the Agora Group during 2011-2012, in response to an observed gap in urban microfinance in India. Initially, Mumbai was chosen as the target market due to its vast population and high levels of poverty, especially in the slum dwellings spread across the city. Over the years, operations have expanded to Navi Mumbai and Nashik. Even though AMIL’s progress has been severely hampered by successive external events – the currency demonetization in 2017, and then successive shocks from the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021, in addition to an interest rate cap for much of its existence – it continues to progress and revive its operations. It has been working towards and expects a strong recovery in the near future.
Current Activities
At present, AMIL is engaged in helping its clients come out of the impacts of the pandemic and is working with them through restructured and refinanced facilities. At the same time, it is actively reaching out to newer market segments, initially in Mumbai, but soon in other towns and cities across the region. Over the next few years, we aim for AMIL to emerge as a strong and reliable provider of financial services in several urban locations in India.