The company provides loans to women in rural and semi-urban areas to help them get access to capital and build sanitation-focussed homes
Kajal Ilmi, founder, MD and CEO, AVIOM
Image: Madhu Kapparath
Babita Sisodia from Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, and Baljinder Kaur from Ganganagar, Rajasthan, had one thing in common. The women were invisible in their homes. Their work—managing households or taking care of their kids—went largely unnoticed and was taken for granted. They were dependent on their husbands for financial needs, and would hardly get money to spend on themselves. All that changed three years ago when they came across AVIOM, a housing finance company started by Kajal Ilmi.
AVIOM (Adhering to Vision of Inclusion of Masses) provides housing loans to women in rural and semi-urban areas, catering to both salaried and self-employed categories. It provides loans ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹500,000 for home extensions, sanitation facilities and renovations. Founded in 2017 by Kajal Ilmi, who is also CEO, the company is “run by women, for women, and lends to women”.
With over 120 branches across 14 states, AVIOM has a team of over 55,000 women, whom they refer to as ‘Shaktis’. They source loans for the company. So far, the company has lent to over 50,000 women.
AVIOM, which claims to be the only financial lending company specifically lending for the construction of toilets, has a ticket size of ₹270,000. The loan tenure is up to 10 years, and the interest rates are approximately 21 to 27 percent.
(This story appears in the 24 March, 2023 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)