The Association of Financial Advisors of India (AFAI) successfully hosted the National Summit & Co-Lending Awards 2024, marking a landmark event in the advancement of co-lending partnerships and financial innovation. Held shortly after National Co-Lending Day, the summit featured distinguished leaders, including Nidhu Saxena, MD & CEO of Bank of Maharashtra, as Chief Guest, and Deo Shankar Tripathi, Executive Vice Chairman of Aadhar Housing Finance Limited, as Guest of Honour.
Speakers from prominent institutions and a diverse audience of finance professionals, fintech companies, and loan service providers (LSPs) participated in discussions aimed at propelling the co-lending model forward.
Co-lending is a collaborative financing model in which banks and NBFCs join forces to fund loans for borrowers. This partnership allows both entities to combine resources efficiently, enhancing customer access to loans and offering more cost-effective solutions. Discussions at the summit highlighted the need for precise risk assessment, efficient coordination, and policy support to scale co-lending partnerships across underserved sectors, a priority area since the RBI’s 2020 guidelines for co-lending to priority sectors.
The highlight of the event was the Co-Lending Awards Ceremony, where AFAI recognized pioneering efforts in co-lending, celebrating banks, NBFCs, fintech firms, and Loan Service Providers (LSPs) advancing financial inclusion and innovation.
The summit featured four panels, including “Expanding Financial Inclusion: The Role of Bank and NBFC Partnerships” and “Balancing Growth and Compliance for NBFCs,” where industry leaders discussed best practices and collaborative strategies to build a more resilient financial ecosystem. Jyoti Prakash Gadia, MD of Resurgent India Ltd.; Ashish Agrawal, Director at Resurgent India Ltd. and founding Member, AFAI; Shachindra Nath, Vice Chairman & MD, UGRO Capital, were among the notable speakers sharing expertise on the co-lending landscape.
AFAI announced the winners of the Co-Lending Awards across the following categories:
The Co-Lending Awards recognized outstanding contributions across various categories. In the Loan Service Providers (LSPS) segment, Ugro Capital was recognized as the Best PSL Loan LSP. In Fintech, Yubi emerged as a leader, winning awards for the Most Scalable Co-Lending Model and the Best Digital Onboarding Solution for Co-Lending. Among NBFCs, Ugro Capital was honoured as the Leading Co-Lending NBFC in MSME Finance, while Navadhan Capital (P) Ltd received the award for the Leading Co-Lending NBFC of the Year.
In the Banking category, IndusInd Bank was named the Outstanding Co-Lending Bank of the Year, South Indian Bank was awarded Outstanding Private Bank in Co-Lending, and the Central Bank of India earned dual recognition as the Outstanding Public Sector Bank in Co-Lending and for Outstanding Social Impact in Co-Lending.
K. K. Gupta, Director at AFAI, concluded the summit with a comprehensive synthesis of the insights exchanged, and offered his perspective on co-lending. The event showcased AFAI's focus on empowering finance professionals with knowledge-sharing platforms, and advocating impactful policy reforms.
About AFAI: The Association of Financial Advisors of India (AFAI) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation dedicated to building a resilient and transparent financial advisory and funding infrastructure in India. AFAI aims to facilitate greater engagement among finance professionals and promote the development of a robust financial advisory framework.
