March 20, 2023
Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank and Autotrac Finance Limited Ltd (AFL), a Gurgaon based Non-Banking Financial Company, today announced its strategic partnership under the co-lending model through the Yubi Co.Lend platform. Through this partnership, both lenders will offer ‘New Tractor Loans’ for the Agricultural and Allied activities to cater the financial needs of the rural segment in the country.
This partnership will leverage the wide customer experience of AFL and deep financial expertise of Axis Bank to enable easy credit availability for farmers at an optimal interest rates. AFL has an advantage of ready access to a robust customer base and dealers across rural and semi-urban regions (RUSU) in 18 states and it will further continue to maximize its network to ensure that farmers whole heartedly embrace advanced farming technologies. This partnership will also empower Axis Bank and AFL to reach out to potential customers who are unable to derive advantages of a formal lending structure. Backed by tech platform Yubi, this partnership will offer seamless processing of loans as per co-Lending guidelines.
Speaking on the collaboration, Mr. Munish Sharda, Group Executive & Head - Bharat Banking, Axis Bank said,'' Our partnership with AFL is in alignment with the Bank’s Bharat Banking mission of extending our reach in the remote regions and providing financial services in a seamless digital manner. With this collaboration, we will increase our presence in the New Tractor business and improve access to formal credit to the farming community of the country. We are excited about the opportunity as our digital co-lending platform allows the partnership to scale-up fast at a lower operating cost, offering a superior customer experience.”
Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Raman Mittal, Joint Managing Director, International Tractors Ltd. (ITL) & Executive Director, Autotrac Finance Ltd. (AFL), said, “Farmers always are at core of any new course of action taken by ITL and we believe that this partnership with Axis Bank will open a whole new era of possibilities for the entire farmer community.
With this partnership, Autotrac Finance Limited (AFL) will leverage its fin-tech expertise and network to facilitate a seamless financial support to the farmers. Through our disciplined approach in digitization and analytics we will support farmers in acquiring the most advanced farm equipment from both, Sonalika and Solis-Yanmar at a competitive interest rates.’’
Gaurav Kumar, Founder & CEO, Yubi said, "In India, financial inclusion is a complex issue. The wide underserved market spread across diverse geographies has forced the ecosystem to come together and find efficient ways to reach the underserved and priority sectors. With Axis Bank’s extensive reach and Autotrac Finance Limited’s unparalleled network extending to semi-urban and rural regions of the country, and Yubi’s robust technology offering, this partnership is representative of the kind of collaborative approach India needs between financial institutions and tech-providers. Leveraging the benefits of the co-lending model and Tractor loans, are effective ways to broaden the total addressable customer base and deepen the reach of financial services in the country, getting more people into the formal financial fold.”