YES Bank has teamed up with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and Wells Fargo on an agreement to lend up to $150 million to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India.
Under the agreement, OPIC will provide $75 million in financing and up to $75 million in syndicated financing jointly with Wells Fargo to YES Bank.
Specifically, $50 million of the financing will be used to expand support to women-owned businesses, while another $50 million will be used for financing SME businesses in low-income States, YES Bank said in a statement.
It added that this will ensure access to funding for women-owned businesses and SMEs in India.
OPIC is the US government’s development finance institution. San Francisco-headquartered Wells Fargo is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $2 trillion in assets.
Rana Kapoor, Managing Director and CEO, YES Bank, said: “This facility will support financing to women entrepreneurs in India for driving future economic growth and job creation.”
Dev Jagadesan, OPIC’s Acting President and CEO, said, “OPIC’s facility will help YES Bank expand its SME lending capacity, specifically enabling them to reach both women and entrepreneurs in low-income States who have much to contribute to India’s economic activity.”
According to the statement, this is the third transaction between OPIC and YES Bank and comes close on the heels of last year’s $265-million OPIC facility, which the bank will use to extend SME financing in India.
The private sector bank said it has also partnered with International Finance Corporation and Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility by drawing a $50-million loan in March 2016 for mobilising capital for women entrepreneurs.
