DBS Bank India has collaborated with Haqdarshak to assist Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises via Haqdarshak’s newly unveiled platform, which provides access to MSME-focused government-assisted schemes across the country.
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has laggard the growth of the MSME sector and several business owners needed assistance to come-out of the uncertainty and build resilience. Several reports suggest that small and medium scale enterprises, which were the worst affected. Keeping this into consideration, Haqdarshak developed a new platform for MSME-focused government welfare schemes, covering registrations, documentation and applications for financing.
In 2018, Haqdarshak received DBS Foundation’s annual Social Enterprise (SE) Grant for their citizen-focused platform. In 2020, just like other businesses, social ventures also suffered from the impact and financial goals during the pandemic.
To support enterprises in this difficult time, DBS Foundation set-up a Business Transformation and Improvement (BTI) Grant to offer additional funding to the past grant awardees, so that these enterprises could protect jobs, as well as pivot in search of new income streams.
Haqdarshak received funding under the DBS Foundation BTI Grant, earlier this year, ultimately empowering them to continue serving their beneficiaries and the wider MSME community.
Haqdarshak’s first platform was developed to ensure that citizens can access and apply for government and private welfare schemes.
DBS Foundation’s BTI grant of Rs 2.7 million helped Haqdarshak to ensure expansion into this segment. The new platform provides information pertaining to government schemes such as SIDBI Loan Scheme for MSMEs, Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, Prime Minister Street vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi Yojana, etc. With this initiative, Haqdarshak aims to reach 100,000 MSMEs and support 1 million jobs annually.
Sudarshan Chari, Head- Business Banking, DBS Bank India said, “At DBS, we are committed to empowering MSMEs to unlock new opportunities. We have introduced initiatives that complement the government’s relief measures and support businesses that have been impacted by disruptions arising due to COVID-19. Haqdarshak’s differentiated model addresses a critical gap in the delivery of welfare schemes, servicing as a one-stop solution for MSMEs to access the right government-assisted schemes. We believe that the proposition will benefit them tremendously in their road to recovery.”
Aniket Doegar, CEO and Co-founder, Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions Private Limited said, “Over the last three years, Haqdarshak has reached over 4 lakh families and helped ease their access to government welfare programs. COVID-19 has hit small businesses the most with loss in revenue, and a cash flow crunch. With our MSME-focused service, we intend to help these business access financing and other welfare services which the government has designed. DBS has been our supporter through this journey, and with their expertise and leadership in the MSME segment, we hope to scale up faster and better with this partnership.”
Shoma Narayanan, Executive Director – Group Strategic Marketing & Communications, DBS Bank India added, “At DBS, being purpose-driven is at the core of all our operations and we are passionate about maximising the impact of social enterprises that positively influence lives and livelihoods. We are inspired by the work done by Haqdarshak for bolstering government efforts towards the MSME community. We hope that our partnership benefits these businesses, accelerating their recovery and growth in these challenging times.”
