Home Credit India launches Inaugural Sustainability Country Card - #BeResponsible

Country card encompasses HCIN’s ESG commitment with a focus on the ‘social or stakeholders’ (S) component; Key ESG pillars include Financial Inclusion, Financial Literacy, Digital Empowerment and Sustainable Communities

Mumbai, July 21, 2022:  Home Credit India (HCIN), a local arm of the international consumer finance provider, today released its inaugural Sustainability Country Card, codifying ESG principles into the business. The document sets out key sustainability pillars such as Financial Inclusion or inclusive lending, Financial Literacy, Digital Empowerment and Sustainable Communities, which together, help HCIN as a responsible lender to serve the customers, communities and all stakeholders.

HCIN has been working on enabling credit penetration in India since entering the local market in 2012. Since then, the focus has been on responsible delivery of trusted financial products and services to the underserved population, while promoting financial and digital literacy to drive a responsible borrowing culture in the wider society. The country card is aligned with the United Nations Sustainability Goals – No Poverty, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Responsible Consumption & Production, Gender Equality, Good Health & Wellbeing.

Elaborating on the first Sustainability Country Card, Mr. Ondrej Kubik, Chief Executive Officer, Home Credit India, said, “For us ESG or Sustainability has always meant the way of doing and operating business that creates value for all stakeholders. Sustainability is woven into our DNA. With a purpose to empower people to live the life they want now, financial inclusion or inclusive lending and financial literacy are a foundation that can provide access to affordable credit to underserved communities and in turn help them develop a positive credit history, which improves their access to formal financial system. Our sustainability pillars along with creating resilient communities is our way of contributing to nation-building.”

Furthering its customer-centric approach, HCIN has recently and successfully embraced digital transformation, and has fast expanded its digital presence and offerings since 2020, to build an omni-channel connection with products and services. Today, both HCIN customers and merchants/retail partners can deliver seamless and paperless onboarding via the HCIN app or website. Half of HCIN customers now follow a complete online journey, and metrics show these numbers are growing each day.

Key 2021 report highlights at a glance: 

• Borrowers Served

>65% increase in number of borrowers served – from 8.5MM in 2018 to 14.2MM in 2021

• Serving the underserved

40% of Home Credit customers were first-time borrowers  

• Financial literacy

3Mn people benefited from HCIN financial literacy initiative (Paise ki Paathshala) and social media engagements in 2021 

• Digital lending

Growth from 2% in 2018 to 30% in 2021 (% of personal loans through digital channels)

• Zero interest

45% of our consumer loans have 0% interest, thanks to partnerships with retailers and manufacturers

• PoS touchpoints

50,000+ point-of-sale touchpoints across 625 cities for customers

• Giving back to communities
• Donated 30,000 respirators and 1.8 million surgical masks to India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at a time of global mask shortages
• Funded medical and hygiene kits for 10,000 people living in poor areas
• Partnered with the Don Bosco Network to distribute basic nutrition packages to 20,000 migrant workers

HCIN ESG Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQeQMi1hOOY

Being part of the community that serves to our business, Home Credit India, gives back to them, by helping communities become more inclusive and resilient by supporting those who live in poverty, promoting entrepreneurship, employment and education for people from underprivileged backgrounds or from under-represented groups, and by improving the general health and wellbeing of the population.

The Country Card is published alongside the Home Credit Group annual Sustainability Report – set to be released on an annual basis, and was prepared in reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, to industry leading benchmarks such as the Standards and Practices for Responsible Inclusive Finance by the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), Principles for Responsible Banking by the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEPFI) and Materiality Finder by the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB).  

About Home Credit India:

Home Credit India Finance Pvt. Ltd. is a local arm of the international consumer finance provider with operations spanning Europe and Asia and committed to drive financial inclusion in India. The company is committed to drive credit penetration and financial inclusion by offering wide financial solutions that are simple, transparent, and accessible to all. Home Credit India has an employee base of over 5000 and has been consistently expanding operations since its entry in 2012, with its operations spread over 625 cities across India. The company has a strong network of around 53,000 points-of-sale (PoS) and is growing with a customer base of 14+ million customers, driven by Pan-India expansion across major markets, a range of diversified and innovative products backed by superior customer experience.