Citi and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have announced a co-financing loan to IndusInd Bank to fund the farm sector, the foreign lender said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This includes a $30 million loan by Citi and JPY 13 billion loan by JICA. This high-impact social finance offering that Citi arranged for IndusInd Bank is expected to improve financial access for farmers and catalyse capital investment in the agricultural sector in India,” the statement said.
Commenting that the agricultural sector accounts for 17 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 45 per cent of employment, Citi said, “As the need to raise agricultural productivity to improve farmers’ incomes increases, there is also an urgent need to improve access to finance to stimulate capital investments in the agricultural sector.”
This project will support the efforts of IndusInd Bank in strengthening its lending to the agricultural sector by leveraging its presence in rural areas. In this new collaborative agreement, Citi acted as the co-financing lender, arranger, coordinator, and facility agent.
Citi has committed $1 trillion to sustainable finance by 2030, as well as expanding access to basic services for 15 million underserved and low-income households, including 10 million women.
