ICICI Bank adds 1,000 SME clients each day

ICICI Bank was looking at growing by 30 per cent on a year-on-year basis in its small and medium enterprises (SME) customers portfolio, with more focus on providing customised solutions for the sector.

Talking at the sidelines of Tieger08, organised by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), ICICI Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer K V Kamath told Business Standard that it was adding 1000 SME customers every day to its already existing 1 million SME clients.

The focus was on encouraging online transaction options for SME clients more than funding SME ventures, said Kamath. ICICI had many private equity players and venture capital funds in the market for that, he added.

Kamath remarked that there will be more equity participation in SMEs.

Transaction-oriented products will emerge as a key driver in the years to come. ICICI already provided web-based cash management services, and internet-based payment systems apart from a dedicated web portal offering non-financial solutions for SMEs.

SME start-ups now look at managing their businesses more professionally and more on the lines of a listed company, Kamath noted. The time was right to think big, and one could even eye a 100 per cent growth in the SME sector in the country, added Kamath.

It has several SME 'connect' programmes that help SMEs transact among themselves and with large corporates. The SME sector contributes nearly 7 per cent of the country's GDP.

In certain sectors like readymade garments and plastic products, SMEs account for more than 80 per cent of the country's exports. The banking industry had been putting together packages for small units, and was working towards doubling credit flow to SMEs by 2010.