Kotak Mahindra Bank focused on building an ecosystem for driving SME growth.

Chennai 2024 Kotak Mahindra Bank is set to expand its SME business in Tamil Nadu, recognizing the southern region as a growing opportunity. Shekhar Bhandari, President-SME, emphasized that SME banking at Kotak is about building the entire ecosystem and partnering in their growth journey, rather than just about funding. The Bank has associated with IIT Madras for “Kotak IIT Madras Save Energy Mission”, with a primary objective of enabling energy efficiency in the SME segment by providing various types of energy assessment services resulting in the decarbonisation of the manufacturing sector via energy conservation and making SMEs efficient, cost effective and sustainable.

The program has so far conducted detailed energy audits for 161 SMEs across 23 different manufacturing sectors resulting in recommendations of annual energy cost savings of Rs. 123 crores*. 19% of the SMEs belong to Tamil Nadu from the Textile and Engineering sectors showcasing Kotak’s Commitment to supporting SMEs in the region by guiding them towards adopting environment-friendly & sustainable practices.

While speaking to reporters, Shekhar Bhandari, President-SME, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “SMEs are integral to our growth strategy, and Tamil Nadu along with Southern region is central to our vision for SME growth. We are happy to support sustainability and energy efficiency amongst SMEs in the region resulting in cost savings. SME banking at Kotak is about offering comprehensive sustainable solutions across trade, collections, working capital management, estate planning, wealth and salary, thereby building the entire ecosystem which helps foster their development.”

For Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tamil Nadu is a vital market with significant growth potential and the bank has identified key locations such as Chennai, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Selam, and Erode leveraging local insights and opportunities for growth. Currently, the bank has 114 branches across 47 locations which it plans further increase in near future.