Sonata Finance Private Ltd

Reaching out to ‘unbankable’ women

India

Since 2006, Sonata Finance Private Ltd (SFPL) has been offering microfinance products in urban and rural India using the group lending model. In 2014 it had over 280,000 clients in more than 50 districts in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttrakhand, Haryana and Bihar.

Sonata focuses on those sections of society who have no access to regular banks. It applies a number of poverty assessments, such as the CASHPOR Housing Index, and social impact tracking tools, such as Grameen Bank's progress out of poverty index (PPI). Sonata also uses a credit bureau to prevent multi-lending and over-indebtedness among its clients. It was one of the first in the region to be licensed as a microfinance institution by the Central Bank of India.

Sonata uses Oikocredit's loans for on-lending to women in northern and central India, who use the loans for agriculture, animal husbandry, micro enterprises and petty trade.

Sonata has been an Oikocredit partner since 2010.