With the decline in economic activities and increase in volatility in financial markets due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) has decided to nurture entrepreneurship skills of the first generation promoters and to focus on micro and small enterprises and microfinance segments through financial assistance at a concessional rate of interest, mentoring assistance, capacity building etc.
In a statement today NEDFi said while its objective is to bring down the credit cost for the needy and first generation entrepreneurs through required intervention, various new IT initiatives have been rolled out and new products and services are introduced to cater to the customised needs of the entrepreneurs and to react out to the difficult areas for affordable credit directly through MFIs.
Under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy NEDFi said that 707 artisans were benefitted from the marketing support initiatives and it will continue to focus on women empowerment, livelihood enhancement projects, employment enhancing vocational skills and development of craft sector in the rural and backward areas.
NEDFi further said that despite the unstable economic scenario due to the pandemic the corporation has recorded an appreciable growth when it generated 17-18 hundred crores of capital investments in the region during the financial year 2020-21. The gross income of the corporation increased year-on-year by 16.97 per cent to Rs.184.84 crore in 2021, it added.
Meanwhile, the corporation held its 26th annual general meeting yesterday in Guwahati.
NEDFi CMD NEDFi PVSLN Murty in his address thanked the members of the board for their valuable guidance, support and counsel and the unstinting support from DoNER, state governments of the region, banks, financial institutions and other organisations in the North East and all the shareholders.