IPPB, SIDBI partner for development of informal MSMEs

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) have entered into a partnership to promote the extension of financial services to MSMEs, especially businesses in rural and remote areas.

J. Venkatramu, MD & CEO, IPPB, expressed the institutional desire to strengthen financial inclusion initiatives and looked forward to the partnership with the principal financial institution for MSMEs in the country.

The partnership aims to leverage IPPB's reach and connect with village-level communities and SIDBI's lending and credit risk assessment models to reach informal and micro-enterprises in rural and remote areas. IPPB will also support SIDBI's customers in digitising payment mechanisms through its merchant onboarding system and collection solutions.

The two institutions will undertake joint programmes to upgrade the skills of Dak Sevaks in supporting credit and other services to enterprises. They will work together to identify other areas of mutual interest and undertake activities to support MSMEs and the MSME ecosystem across the country, with a focus on informal micro-enterprises.

Along with signing the MoU, announcements were made for organising a hackathon involving the Fintech community for innovation in financial services in rural areas and a Swavalamban Challenge Fund to promote rural livelihood enterprises.