SME Rating Agency of India
SMERA, widely known as ‘The SME Rating Agency’, was conceptualised by Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India and the Reserve Bank of India to help Indian MSMEs grow and get access to credit through independent and unbiased credit opinion that banks can rely on. SMERA offers SME Ratings, New Enterprise Credibility Scores, SME Credit Due Diligence and SME Trust Seal to Indian MSMEs to help lenders take informed decisions.
| Industry | Credit Ratings |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 1, 2020 |
| Headquarters | 905, Lodha Supremus, Kanjurmarg East, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
Key people | Reshma Polasa, Mohit Jain |
| Products | Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) Rating, Credit Due Diligence, Solar Grading, Vendor Assessment
MFI Grading - Mircofin Analytics, SMERA Terminal |
| Parent | Acuité Ratings & Research Limited |
| Website | www |
SMERA is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Acuité Ratings & Research Limited. Acuité, a joint initiative of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Private Limited (D&B) and leading public and private sector banks in India, is registered with SEBI as a credit rating agency.
Microfin Analytics is an initiative of SMERA Gradings & Ratings to facilitate financial inclusion through grading, research and advisory services exclusive to the Microfinance Institutions (MFI) sector. It aims to provide valuable and timely insights to the MFI lenders and investors for meeting their social, financial and business objectives.
History
SMERA was as an initiative of Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India and the Reserve Bank of India. Thus, SMERA became the world’s first MSME focused rating agency and introduced the concept of SME Ratings in India. SMERA is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Acuité Ratings & Research Limited.
Achievements
1) SMERA has pioneered SME ratings in the country and has till date completed over 52,000 ratings across sectors and geographies. SMERA Ratings have gained wide acceptability and are now an integral part of the risk assessment process within the lending and investing community.
2) In 2005, SMERA was incorporated under the directive of the Government of India. In the same year it was approved by the Ministry of MSME and Government of India for PCR Scheme of NSIC.
3) The Department for International Development, UK extended Technical Assistance grant under World Bank Project in the year 2006.
4) The Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) has awarded SIDBI with "Outstanding Development Project Award" for setting up SMERA. The award was given under the SME Development Category during the 30th ADFIAP Annual Meeting held on 10 May 2007 at Hanoi, Vietnam.[1]
5) SMERA had an eloquent mention in IFC's report in 2010, as a novel and sustainable initiative of the Govt. of India to increase credit flow to the MSME sector in India.
6) In 2017, SMERA launched its product SMERA Terminal - a fintech platform for connecting lenders and MSME's.
7) SMERA bought the launch of New Enterprise Credibility score (NECS) in 2018, for start-ups in the country.
References
- "SMERA gets ADFIAP Award". Financial Express. Retrieved 26 February 2011.