Hyderabad, August 25 Spandana Sphoorty Financial is planning to focus on growing its microfinance book assets under management (AUM) to ₹15,000 crore by FY25 from ₹6,581 crore in the last financial year and build an incremental 10-15 per cent secured portfolio from other businesses.
The growth strategy includes building new lender relationships (acquisition of new customers), geographic expansion and strengthening of the management team (middle and senior), among others.
Spandana acquired 1,06,000 customers during the first quarter. According to Shalabh Saxena, Managing Director & CEO, Spandana, the story of Spandana would be a ‘customer acquisition-led growth story’.
Focus areas
Focus to be on customer acquisition through organic business operations, BC and co-lending model and sourcing of customers from deep rural and semi-urban locations where the reach of formal financing channels is relatively weak.
Spandana would explore the possibility to graduate existing microfinance customers to higher ticket individual loan products. Product suite to be refined to ensure that Spandana meets the life cycle requirements of all its customers, including secured products.
The growth would also be driven by exploring cross-sell opportunities through partnerships, developing fin-tech partnerships that enable Spandana to provide investment avenues to its long-term customers . The MFI is also planning to forge partnership with a banking organisation that will help it mobilise low-cost deposits for its banking partners.
Branch expansion
It has lined up significant branch expansion. The number of branches would go up from 1,120 at the end of the last financial year to 1,500 by FY25 with a corresponding increase in customers from 23.5 lakh to 40 lakh in the same period.
For higher operational efficiency, Spandana is strengthening the team at the head office at the senior management and the middle management level. During the first quarter, Amit Anand assumed charge as new Chief Risk Officer from Shinhan Bank. He had earlier experience with Bank of India, Bank of Baroda. “In the future quarters you will see recruitments in the middle management,’‘ Saxena said.
Spandana disbursed ₹1,320 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2022 as against ₹216 crore in the year-ago period, a growth of 511 per cent. Cash and bank balance was at ₹657 crore with a CRAR of 47.9 per cent and ₹2,817 crore net worth.