Arohan Financial Services Limited | Annual Report 2022-23

In the past two decades, India has made significant strides in reducing extreme poverty. From 2011 to 2019, the country is estimated to have halved the proportion of the population living in extreme poverty. However, the pace of poverty reduction has slowed in recent years, and key welfare indicators have shown limited improvement. The COVID-19 pandemic initially led to an increase in extreme poverty, but it started to moderate in the last two years. Over the years, the microfinance sector in our country has witnessed remarkable growth and transformation. It has become a catalyst for economic development by providing accessible and affordable financial services to those who have been traditionally excluded from the formal banking system. Microfinance institutions, including our organisation, have played a vital role in bridging the financial gap, enabling individuals to start and expand their businesses, meet their household needs, and improve their overall standard of living. Through small loans, savings programmes, and financial literacy initiatives, we have empowered countless individuals, particularly women, to become self-reliant and break the cycle of poverty. As the Chairman of the Company, I can say that our philosophy has always been to empower the underprivileged section of society, and we have continuously strived towards making financial services available to all. We believe in creating an ecosystem that helps small businesses and individuals to flourish by providing them with financial assistance through micro-credit and other financial services. Our values of Employee Engagement, Transparency, Honesty and Integrity, Innovation, Customer Centricity and Shareholder Value Focus have been the driving force behind our success. Our mission has always been to empower marginalized communities by providing them with access to credit and financial services. We have been successful in reaching out to the unbanked population in remote areas, helping them to improve their livelihoods and become financially independent. During the year, we disbursed loans amounting to approximately INR 5300 Cr, which helped millions of families in starting their own businesses, pay for their children’s education, build their own homes, or meet their medical expenses. We also made significant progress in digitalising our operations, which has enabled us to serve our customers more efficiently and securely. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance and have rolled out the much-awaited ‘Nirnay’, our credit scoring model, to leverage data analytics and modelling techniques to help assess clients’ credit worthiness. We have also expanded our team of experienced professionals, who bring their expertise to bear on our operations in order to enhance our capacity to serve our customers better. Finally, on behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to express my gratitude to all our stakeholders, customers, employees and shareholders for their continued support and encouragement. It is their commitment and support that have made our journey successful. We will continue to work towards our goal of uplifting the underprivileged section of society and providing them with financial assistance. Aswemove intothenext financial year,weareconfident that we will continue to achieve our objectives and make a positive impact on society. Warm Regards, Dinesh Kumar Mittal Chairman Board of Directors Chairman’s Address Annual Report 2022-23 | 2