In a key step towards strengthening collaborative efforts in agri-financing, Samunnati hosted a senior delegation from the State Bank of India (SBI), led by Mr. Govind Narayan Goyal, Chief General Manager – Agri Business Unit (ABU) & Government Sponsored Schemes (GSS), Corporate Centre, Mumbai. The SBI team was welcomed by Mr. Anil Kumar SG, Founder of Samunnati, and Mr. Badri Narayanan, Group CEO, along with members of the senior leadership team.
The meeting served as a platform to explore strategic areas such as the revival of agri co-lending partnerships, priority sector lending, and ecosystem-wide synergies. Discussions also touched upon shared goals to enable more inclusive and sustainable financing solutions for Indian agriculture.
“Samunnati’s journey has always been anchored in enabling Farmer Collectives through tailored financial and non-financial support. As a market leader in FPO financing, we believe partnerships like this with SBI—India’s largest bank—are vital to scale meaningful impact. From co-developing tools like the FPO Grading Framework with CRISIL, to public platforms like the Bharat FPO Finder and FPO Academy, our efforts are centered on strengthening the agri value chain. We cannot move the needle on agri-transformation without collective action,” said Mr. Anil Kumar SG, Founder, Samunnati.
“It was a pleasure to engage with the Samunnati team and witness their deep-rooted commitment to strengthening the FPO ecosystem. SBI’s evolving policy framework—anchored around a ‘Producer to Processor’ approach—finds strong alignment with Samunnati’s value-chain-led model. The brief yet impactful interaction with the FPOs further reinforced the potential of this approach. We see exciting possibilities ahead to work together and complement each other’s efforts in advancing inclusive agri-finance across the country,” said Mr. Govind Narayan Goyal, CGM – ABU & GSS, State Bank of India.
A special highlight of the engagement was the felicitation of three outstanding Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) for their exemplary contributions to inclusive and sustainable rural development. The Thiruvadanai FPO was recognised for championing women-led leadership and inclusive governance; the Needamangalam FPO was honoured for exemplifying dynamic youth-driven agri-entrepreneurship; and the Yazali FPO was celebrated for its resilient approach to transformative growth in the farming ecosystem.
These recognitions underscore the critical role FPOs play in enhancing farm-level prosperity and the importance of enabling partnerships among financial institutions, agri-enterprises, and farmer groups. The discussions concluded on a positive and forward-looking note, with both SBI and Samunnati reaffirming their commitment to co-create scalable models for inclusive, tech-enabled, and value-chain-based agricultural finance.