Village Financial Services Ltd , headquartered in Kolkata, was incorporated on June 28, 1994, as a private limited company over a decade before it got its present name. The name Village Financial Services Private Limited was registered by the Registrar of Companies on January 23, 2006. Subsequently, the Reserve Bank of India granted it a certificate of registration dated December 1, 2006. In 2013, VFSPL became the first microfinance institution in eastern India to get the status of an NBFC-MFI or Non-Banking Financial Company-MFI from the RBI. On November 7, 2017, the company was converted into a public company, after which the RBI granted it a fresh certificate of registration on January 4, 2018. VFS is also the first ISO-certified microfinance company in India. The microfinance operations under VFS have grown phenomenally. It has touched the lives of thousands of poor families by providing them credit for income-generating activities and helping them become economically self-sufficient, besides empowering women and so letting them live with dignity.
History
In 1978, a group of young people got together to help flood victims of West Bengal. In 1982, that developed to Village Welfare Society and was registered as a not-for-profit organization. VWS began microfinance activities in 1996 which led to the setting up of Village Micro Credit Services in 2004, a Section 25 not-for-profit company to undertake microfinance activities. The firm was renamed to Village Financial Services Limited, regulated by the RBI. It was reclassified by the RBI as an ‘NBFC-MFI’ on 27 September 2013. The company was incorporated on June 28, 1994, in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, as a private limited company under the Companies Act, 1956, under a different name.
The company has been included in academic studies of micro finance.
Board of Directors
Mr Ajit Kumar Maity is the chairman of Village Financial Services Ltd. He has worked in microfinance since 1995 after having started an NGO in 1978. He is the pioneer of microfinance in eastern India. He is also the founder-member of Sa-Dhan.
Mr Kuldip Maity is the MD and CEO of Village Financial Services. He is associated with Sa-Dhan, AMFI West Bengal and Micro Finance Institutions Network. He has been a dedicated social worker for over two decades. He has received numerous awards for his work.
Dr Sankar Datta, a doctorate in economics, is an independent director of VFS. He has been working for more than three decades with the poor to improve their livelihoods by getting linked with various value chains and accessing microfinance.
Ms Jayshree Vyas, a chartered accountant, is an independent director of VFS. She is the Managing Director of Shri Mahila Sewa Sahakari Bank Ltd and Promoter Director in Sewa Grih Rin Ltd, and a director in Equitas Holding Ltd, among others.
Dr T.K. Mukhopadhyay is an independent director of VFS. He was earlier country head of IDBI Bank and has been on the board of North Eastern Development Financial Corporation.
Mr Pradipta Jena, an independent director of VFS, is a former Regional Director of the Reserve Bank of India. He has handled general banking and foreign exchange, among others, and has a special interest in rural development and microcredit.
Investors
IDFC First Bank and Param Value Investments are the equity investors in Village Financial Services as on March 31, 2019.
Param Value Investments invested in VFS in March 2018. Param Value Investments is a partnership firm owned by a high net-worth individual, Mr Mukul Mahavir Agarwal, and Param Capital Research Pvt Ltd. The firm invests both in public and private equity across sectors.
