Vrutti, a livelihoods catalyst under the Catalyst Platform, partnered with HSBC India on Thursday to unveil FPO Shakti, a blended finance facility aimed at empowering early-stage Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) with timely capital.
The stage-based programme, managed by Friends of Women’s World Banking (FWWB) India, targets a financing gap that hampers more than two-thirds of India’s 44,000 registered FPOs from scaling beyond incubation. It combines revolving funds, guarantees and revenue-linked loans with technical support on governance, business planning and digital tools, offering a 24-month acceleration path for participants.
An initial 15 FPOs will benefit, with expansion planned to over 100, fostering bankable farmer-owned enterprises amid seasonal agricultural risks.
“Structured interventions to build FPO capacity and governance are essential to unlock investment-ready pipelines,” HSBC India Managing Director and Head of Sustainability Aloka Majumdar said.
Vrutti CEO Raghini Badhrinarayanan described the facility as a “shift to long-term institutional strengthening” with patient capital tailored to rural realities.
The initiative integrates diagnostics, business support organisations and real-time digital tracking to align finance with FPO growth stages, promoting resilient value chains and higher smallholder incomes.