MR Rao, Vice Chairman, Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd

MR Rao, Vice Chairman, Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd

Mr. M.R. Rao, currently Non-Executive Vice Chairman of Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited is a Retail Financial Services professional with over 34 years of experience in the domain.

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The true growth of any society depends on the growth of its whole population. Tune in with The Brand Called You while we talk to MR Rao, a senior financial services professional in India. MR has helped reach microfinance to 1.25 Lac villages covering 23 states in India. 

MR Rao is currently the Non-Executive Vice Chairman of Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd with over 34 years of experience in this domain. In the interview, he takes us through his journey of helping people across the country through his organization. 

Alumni of BITS Pilani, he was associated with ING Vysya Life Insurance, American Express, Standard Chartered Bank, and Esanda Finanz & Leasing Limited prior to the stint with Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited.

What is Microfinance? 

Microfinance is lending loans to the poor at affordable rates. MR explains the theory of Prof. Muhammad Yunus and shares his concept of providing microfinance to poor people to open their own small businesses. He talks about how lending to women is better because they are more organized and repay their installments faster. 

MR joined BFIL (then SKS MicroFinance) in 2006 and has been at the forefront of driving its rural distribution reach. He talks about the challenges BFIL faced while growing its company. He focused on managing and stabilizing the growth of BFIL and was one of the first senior managers to join the organization and helped it become the gold standard microfinancing team it is today.

He shares the stories of rural people who have benefited from the microfinance program. He also explains how microfinance companies attain funds. During his tenure at BFIL, the company came out with a successful IPO. MR also talks about the reaction of millennials and generation z to microfinance. 

Mr. M.R. Rao, currently Non-Executive Vice Chairman of Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited is a Retail Financial Services professional with over 34 years of experience in the domain. His expertise lies in managing operations in a large business environment, formulating strategies, identifying new markets & business models, relying on technology for distribution & operational efficiencies. Asides, his focus on enterprise delivering profitable growth has been the cornerstone thus ensuring consistent value for stakeholders over the years.  

Mr. Rao joined Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (then SKS Micro Finance) in October 2006 and has been at the forefront of driving its rural distribution reach. Apart from the many successes, during his tenure, the company came out with a successful IPO which was oversubscribed 14 times. His long-term vision of focus on technology-led to BFIL being a paperless company thus ensuring operational efficiencies & cost saves. This also ensured substantial productivity increase across the distribution while still ensuring complete control over Quality & Processes. Focused on stabilizing & keeping the company on the growth path he laid in parallel the roadmap for the future by envisaging and concluding the merger of BFIL with IndusInd in 2017.  

While spearheading the digital revolution in the microfinance Industry he determinedly kept working on increasing the footprint of the company pan India. His initiatives & efforts led to Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited’s operations and rural distribution increasing to 1.25 Lac villages covering 23 states in India. The Company currently has a network of 2200+ branches pan India & over 8 million customer base & a portfolio of over 25,000 crs. 

A Mentor, Leader par excellence, and an Inspiration to many he has motivated & galvanized teams to deliver Enterprise Value. Amongst the many awards & recognition he was bestowed over the years, notable was his recognition in the Top 40 CEO’s in BFSI sector by Business Today-PWC in 2016. 

Alumni of BITS Pilani, he was associated with ING Vysya Life Insurance, American Express, Standard Chartered Bank, and Esanda Finanz & Leasing Limited prior to the stint with Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited.