California-based BILITI Electric Inc announced that Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), the principal financial institution engaged in the promotion, financing and development of MSMEs, has approved to sanction loans to those who are interested in purchasing GMW Taskman Electric 3W Autos, through its ‘Digital Prayaas’ program.
‘Digital Prayaas’ is an App-based end to end digital lending platform to facilitate access to low-cost borrowings for micro-entrepreneurs/micro enterprises. Further, to cater to the aspiring youths in the urban area, SIDBI has also tied up with a major aggregato r viz., BigBasket, to on board its delivery partners across the country and provide loans at an affordable interest rate for purchase of environment friendly electric vehicles suitable for deliveries.
The development enables BigBasket delivery partners to purchase GMW Taskman 3W vehicles at 8-10% interest rate and provide a regular stream of revenue, allowing them to lead a sustainable livelihood. BILITI’s Taskman vehicle is first in the e-van segment to get financing approval as part of the program.
Department of Financial Services Secretary Mr. Debasish Panda while launching the initiative, appreciated the role played by SIDBI in meeting the financial requirements of the people at the bottom of the pyramid by offering loans at an affordable rate through its Digital Prayaas programme.
SIDBI Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Sivasubramanian Ramann said “the App facilitates speedy onboarding of loan applicants in a digital and integrated process which has made the entire programme scalable with better risk management and would further improve customer satisfaction.”
Speaking on this occasion, BigBasket CEO Hari Menon said that they are delighted about this partnership. “The initiative to offer loans will have a positive impact on the livelihood of hundreds of our delivery associates and also fulfills its social objectives,” said Hari Menon.
“We are extremely happy to collaborate with SIDBI-BigBasket on this unique financing option for BILITI Taskman 3-wheeler electric vehicles. SIDBI has been at the forefront of assisting and developing MSMEs, since its inception. We are one of the early EV partners for BigBasket. Thanks to BigBasket for being an early adopter of our EVs, and for creating EV friendly warehouses by providing charging and parking facilities across the country” said Rahul Gayam, CEO, BILITI Electric.
BILITI Electric currently operates through an exclusive manufacturing partnership with Hyderabad- based Gayam Motor Works (GMW) for manufacturing its three-wheelers. Biliti’s TaskmanTM is a popular last-mile delivery vehicle that is deployed in 15 countries across the globe including Japan, the USA, the UK, France, Portugal, Germany, Lebanon, Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, Nepal, Bangladesh, Dubai, and India and has covered over 20 million miles. TaskmanTM is being used by Amazon, IKEA, Wasoko (Sokowatch), BigBasket (Tata), Zomato, Flipkart (Walmart), and JioMart (Reliance) among others. The TaskmanTM has already made more than 12 million deliveries worldwide with many more to come. Its batteries and drivetrain are compact and modular in design, allowing them to have wider applications in auto, marine, warehousing, and backup power sectors enabling the buildout of an EV ecosystem.
