7th State-Level Financial Inclusion Conclave held in Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar(By Abhishek Mohanty): Microfinance institutions have played a significant role in expanding financial inclusion and women entrepreneurships in Odisha by extending a wide range of financial services to customers living in remote and underserved areas of the state. In addition to credit services, these institutions have also contributed strongly towards financial and digital literacy, social security, and other essential services, speakers highlighted during the 7th State-Level Financial Inclusion Conclave held at a local hotel in Bhubaneswar.
The conclave was inaugurated by the Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Sarada Prasan Mohanty, who appreciated the contributions of microfinance institutions in strengthening financial inclusion across Odisha.
Addressing the gathering, he advised to Womenof Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to borrow responsibly based on their need and repayment capacity and repay loans on time.
The conclave was chaired by Dibyajyoti Pattnaik, President, OSAFII who stated that microfinance institutions have supported with about Rs. 18,000 crores to women SHG/JLG Members for their various income generation including small businesses, household industries, water and sanitation, and housing construction. He also noted that these institutions have provided employment to more than 15,000 youth in the state.
Pattanaik further said that OSAFII will expand and multiply its enterprise development support in the coming days for the overall development of the state.
Narendra Nayak, CEO, OSAFII informed that OSAFII has been promoting financial inclusion programmes in collaboration with various Government & and private institutions, Banks, the Reserve Bank of India, SIDBI, NABARD, and other organisations operating in Odisha.
The conclave also witnessed participation from several prominent dignitaries and stakeholders including Michael Schlein,
(President, ACCIOM), Padmalochan Rautaray (Mission Shakti), K. Balaji (State Bank of India), Pradyumna Kumar Choudhury (SIDBI), Chandan Thakur (Sa-Dhan), Ganesh Narayanan (CreditAccess Grameen), Abha Mishra (UNDP), Sibu K (ESAF Small Finance Bank), S.K. Mitra (Jan Kalyan Sanstha), Dr. Debashish Mohapatra (KIIT), Mohan Baliyarsingh Singh (Sampark), Deepak Nath, Cyber Security Expert, Susanta Sahu, Kotak Life and representative from HDFC Life, and OSAFII Board Members Alok Pattnayak, Ajit Kumar Sabat, Amulya Sahu, Prashant Sahu, Ashish Kumar Das, Anjan Prusty, Govind Dash, Jugal Kishore Pattanayak among others.
The speakers discussed various aspects of financial inclusion, women entrepreneurship, digital literacy, and related issues. More than 500 Women SHG Members from 30 districts of Odisha participated in the conclave.
