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Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is bringing in large credit guarantee schemes for EV companies, said Sivasubramanian Ramann, CMD, SIDBI, at TechSparks 2023.

“We have gone into EV aggregators. We are now bringing in large credit guarantee schemes for EVs. We are working with the World Bank for two-wheelers and Asian Development Bank for four-wheelers … The multiples you can get from a credit guarantee scheme is way more than a loan,” he said.

SIDBI has also introduced a new credit risk ranking system for MSMEs, in collaboration with credit information company TransUnion CIBIL and the digital lending platform for MSMEs, Online PSB Loans. The new rating for the system is being developed on the back of GST data, said Ramann.

“We are triangulating GST, bank statements, and ITR. We have a score called ‘Fit Score’ … We look at CIBIL scores, we get scores on repayment, and we get a number from Jocata to give loans of Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore to buy machinery.”

SIDBI is also keen to explore beyond EVs, solar energy, and batteries and look at health and food in the area of sustainability. 

“Sustainability is also about food, health, and sustainability of man and nature. We want to move along this path more rapidly,” he said, and added that SIDBI is also focusing on the greening of India’s MSMEs.

Ramann said that global, multilateral, sovereign funds and people with large pools of capital are keen on investing in rural startups.

Speaking about empowering women entrepreneurs, Ramann referred to a recent visit to Odisha, where he met women entrepreneurs, who had put up stalls featuring fancy products and packaging.

“Two were private limited companies. I see their passion and hunger … We just want to make sure that money reaches them,” he said.

Ramann also made a reference to Looms of Ladakh, a collective of 30 women herders and artisans working to revive the dying art of Pashmina.

In 2021, SIDBI launched its Swavalamban Challenge Fund aimed at expanding the scope of local and sustainable businesses. Under this fund, SIDBI offered Rs 35 lakh to Looms of Ladakh for tech upgrades.