Arohan Annual Report19-20
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The Arohan Story The Arohan Story There was once a traveler who set out on a journey for the greater good. Through rocky terrains and beautiful meadows, he marched forward and came thence to the present that leads to a promising future. Arohan has chosen for itself a path seldom traveled. From when it became a part of the Aavishkaar Group in the year 2012 to when it chose to open operations in the most challenging yet needy geographies, Arohan has always been a torchbearer as it has turned many a new leaf in its exciting book of journey. Through innovation, learning and purpose it has re-imagined its story to make it worth the journey forward. Founded in the year 2006, Arohan continued to serve the under-served in its limited capacity until it became a part of the Aavishkaar Group, global pioneers in taking an entrepreneurship-based approach towards development, post one of the most challenging external conditions that the microfinance industry faced in 2011. That was the turning point that led Arohan to become what it is today. Guided by its value system, Arohan has taken the lead to venture into a new world of innovative solutions with a digital approach emerging stronger through every challenge, and meaningfully contributing to the Indian financial inclusion landscape. Join us as we take you through an exciting journey that tells you 'The Arohan Story'! Ranked among the TOP 25 India’s Best Workplaces in BFSI - Great Place to Work® In a significant achievement, Arohan Financial Services Limited, has been certified as a Great Place to Work by the Great Place To Work® Institute. Arohan has been ranked 86th among the 100 Best Companies to Work For in India, 2020 and has also been identified in the list of top 25 Best Companies to Work For in the BFSI sector and among the top most in the Microfinance sector. Arohan wins the Institute for Competitiveness Strategy Award in Financial Services, 2019 by Times Network In a notable achievement, Arohan won the prestigious Institute for Competitiveness (IFC) Strategy Award in financial inclusion for 2019 by Times Network. The Award has been conferred in recognition of Arohan’s role in shaping the industry, creating unique positioning and altering the basis of competitiveness for the Finance, Banking and Insurance sectors. Arohan’s Internal Audit Department certified with ISO 9001:2015 by BSI The Internal Audit Department of Arohan Financial Services Limited has been successfully certified with the ISO 9001:2015 certificate from the British Standards Institution (BSI). This certificate has been awarded to Arohan’s state-of-the-art Quality Management System which complies with the requirement of ISO 9001:2015 for conducting Internal Audit for Operations and all other support functions. Arohan’s social performance receives the highest-rated SP1 grading Arohan Financial Services Limited has been awarded the top- notch SP1 grading from ICRA. The grading is the highest on a five-point scale. Defined as ‘Excellent’, an SP1 grade indicates that an MFI’s infrastructure and processes are consistent with a very high likelihood of operating in the best interests of its customers, that this is among its highest priorities. Arohan wins the “Most Digitally Advanced NBFC of the Year 2019” Award Arohan Financial Services Limited has been conferred the award for the “Most Digitally Advanced NBFC of the Year 2019” at the India NBFC Summit & Awards 2019. The recognition is a testimony of the collective efforts of the organisation to steadily and consistently evolve its technology platform into an indispensable tool for achieving and maintaining premier standards of customer service and efficiency. Awards & Accolades ◆ Institute for Competitiveness (IFC) Strategy Award in financial services by Times Network (2019) ◆ Most Digitally Advanced NBFC of the Year 2019 Awards by India NBFC Forum ◆ CII Special Jury Recognition for ‘Environment Sustainability’ (2019) Certifications ◆ ISO 9001:2015 certification by BSI for Arohan’s Internal Audit Function ◆ CARE MFI 1 Grading, highest on an 8-point scale, third year in a row (2017/ 2018/2019) ◆ COCA Assessment score of C1 (top grade indicating “Excellent Performance on COCA Dimensions” (2018/2019) ◆ SP 1 rating for our Social Performance by ICRA (2019) ◆ CARE Credit Rating A- (2016/2017/2018/2019) ◆ SMART Campaign Certification to award our client protection principle (2015, Recertified 2019) ◆ Great Place to Work certified, among India's top 100 Best Companies to Work For, among top 25 Best Workplaces in the BFSI sector and among the top most Best Workplaces in the Microfinance sector Mission Core Values To empower under-served households and small Employee Engagement: Arohan treats its employees as a major stakeholder and hence its processes and systems are businesses by offering a range of financial services, designed to ensure employee satisfaction, development and in a manner sustainable for all stakeholders. high morale. Transparency: Arohan’s products and processes are transparent to its clients such that the information Vision communicated to them is clear, sufficient and timely in a manner and language clients can understand so that clients To impact over 20 million lives by 2025 can make informed decisions. It is also transparent in its communication to, and transactions with all other stakeholders, 20 by 2025 and employees. Aspiring to be in the Top 3 FI players while covering over 5 million households with an INR 25,000 Cr portfolio and being in the Top 3 Honesty and Integrity: Led by exemplary governance, Arohan places to work by 2025 maintains high integrity in its delivery, products and processes. Arohan has zero tolerance for unethical practices. It strives to behave with honesty and integrity in all its internal and external communication, and dealings with all stakeholders. Innovation: Arohan strives to maintain a creative culture in the organisation, where employees are encouraged to learn and innovate in their day to day work, while adhering to Arohan’s standards of business and conduct. Also, product, process and business model innovation are integral to Arohan. Customer Centricity: Since customers are considered important stakeholders, Arohan’s products and processes are designed keeping customer needs and realities in mind. Arohan strives to serve customer needs in an effective and efficient manner and behave in a dignified and respectful manner with its customers at all times. Shareholder Value Focus: Arohan recognizes its shareholders to be an important stakeholder whose interests it strives to protect, and to whom it seeks to deliver value by focusing on sustainability, profitability and growth of the business. Index Chairman’s 2 Address Group Chairman's 3 Address Managing Director's 4 - 5 Address Corporate 6 - 7 Information Board of 8 - 9 Directors Management 10 - 11 Profile Investor 12 - 13 Profile Financial 14 - 15 Highlights Management 16 - 53 Discussion & Analysis Board of 54 - 78 Director’s Report Independent 79 - 89 Auditor’s Report Financial 90 - 152 Report Chairman’s Address | Group Chairman's Address rounds of discussions with the various stakeholders Arohan Financial Services Limited, with its headquarters including the Government of Assam, senior bureaucrats and in Kolkata, West Bengal, was founded by Shubhankar the other local associations’ leaders. This helped bring about Sengupta in the year 2006. It was in the year 2012 that the consensus in recognising the role of the industry in not just Aavishkaar Group decided to take control of Arohan towards financial inclusion but also job creation in India, among the capacitating its desire to build a digital microfinance socio-economically disadvantaged. The implementation of architecture for low-income states to deliver on its vision “To the Code for Responsible Lending is a reflection of exemplary Bridge the Opportunity Gap for the Emerging 3 Billion” of thought leadership and foresight, which has been taken humanity. Aavishkaar Group believed that microfinance had forward by MFIN under the guidance of its Governing Board, been focussing too much on cash logistics and little on real chaired by Manoj Nambiar, Managing Director of your financial inclusion and identified early, the increasing role of company, Arohan Financial Services Limited. digital finance in this space. As for Arohan, I am pleased to state that the management Over the last seven years, under the stellar leadership of has thought, acted, worked, conducted and collaborated Manoj Kumar Nambiar, Vice-Chair of the Group Executive in an outstanding manner to record considerable growth, Committee of Aavishkaar Group and Managing Director of despite various local disruptions in its areas of operations Arohan, we have achieved some extraordinary success in in Assam and natural disasters in Odisha, Bihar and Bengal. reaching that goal. We are deeply indebted to our Chairman The challenges scaled its highest with the spread of the Shri D.K. Mittal for his unwavering support and laser-like global pandemic, COVID-19. While with COVID-19, financial focus on cashless transactions that have kept us on our toes markets across the world are experiencing extreme volatility, to reach the ambitious milestone of almost 100% cashless in India it has impacted economic activities directly due to disbursement and nearly 50% of our targeted collection, in lockdowns, affecting global trade and growth. In these a digital mode. challenging times, financial inclusion through microfinance We are of the firm belief that to keep pushing the