Common Service Centers (CSC), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and Adani Capital said they have started providing working capital to CSC’s village level entrepreneurs (VLEs).

Currently, approval for business loans have been provided to as many as 100 VLEs empanelled with CSC Grameen eStores, while 1,500 VLEs will be covered in the next three months, the companies said in a statement.

There are 10,000 VLEs empanelled with CSC Grameen e-Stores. TheVLEs act as distributors on the digital rural marketplace created by CSC e-Grameen stores, helping corporates in last mile direct distribution of their products, which include FMCG, consumer durables, home appliances and automobiles.

The Grameen e-Stores, launched in April 2020, offer a large range of products including local handicrafts, groceries, consumer durables and automobile in far-flung areas.

“Like any business, working capital is key to sustainable growth and with our tie-up with Adani Capital, we have been able to address VLE’s financing requirements and that too digitally,” Sanjay Rakesh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, CSC SPV, said.

There are 3.64 lakh Grameen eStores across the country and their business has touched ₹642.77 crore since launch, he said.

“Creating a seamless, convenient on-boarding and underwriting digital journey is what we are looking at. This is in coherence with our vision of supporting micro-entrepreneurs in rural and semi-urban areas,” Gaurav Gupta, MD and CEO, Adani Capital, said.