As you all know, customer-centricity is the cornerstone of ESAF and its success. From the time of its inception, we have always remained true to this core principle, regardless of the customers’ location or socio-economic background. We simply exist to serve them according to their convenience. As I often say, financial aid is merely an extension of our passion to serve the community. We must imbibe the spirit of service, and understand the magnitude of impact ESAF creates in the lives of our customers. We need to work in unison to serve society in the best way possible.

No organisation can sustain itself without giving adequate consideration to customer well-being. Now the horizon has been widened to include even the well-being of the society as a whole. For every decision, irrespective of its significance, customer well-being should be the focal point. Service from the heart and service driven by monetary benefits can be easily differentiated, and a customer would be the first person who could feel the gap. Remember, we should always think that a customer is more intelligent than us, no matter whether he is a micro banking customer or a retail customer.

As an organisation, we have always sought to grow along with our customers. The business aspect of our services can only be met through customer-centricity. A good service attitude can help us to hit two birds in one go. It ensures customer satisfaction from a service perspective and meets the company goals from a bottom-line perspective.

Even when our business was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, we did not forsake our customers. We stood by our principles of customer-centricity and service. We recognised the financial strain the pandemic put on our customers and stepped up to the occasion. The introduction of the Pratheeksha Kiran loan was one of the many empathetic steps we took to assist the livelihood restoration of our customers. We also restructured loans and provided them with repayment holidays.

As a socially responsible financial institution, the onus is on us to lend our hands to uplift the poor and low-income families, so that they can dream and strive for a better tomorrow. Together, we have the power to become a ray of hope for millions of underprivileged people reeling under the darkness of financial turmoil.

The true reward for our hard work comes from witnessing the positive impact of our interventions and the gratitude of our customers inspires us to strive forward. As Don Alden Adams once said, “To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” As servant leaders, let us all aspire to serve integrity and sincerity.