NABARD Acquires 10% Stake in Agri-Fintech Startup 24×7 Moneyworks Consulting Pvt. Ltd. to boost Rural Credit Digitization
What happened
On April 29, 2026, NABARD acquired 10% equity stake in 24×7 Moneyworks Consulting Pvt. Ltd., marking its first investment in a bootstrapped agri-fintech startup. The company's flagship eKisanCredit (eKCC) platform digitizes rural credit for Cooperative Banks, PACS and RRBs by integrating land records, Aadhaar, eKYC and core banking systems. After 2.5 years of piloting, eKCC is ready for nationwide rollout to serve small and marginal farmers with faster, transparent credit services.
Why it matters
This investment represents NABARD's strategic shift toward digitizing rural credit infrastructure through private sector innovation. The eKCC platform addresses critical bottlenecks in agricultural lending by automating the entire credit lifecycle - from application to disbursement - for last-mile institutions like PACS and RRBs that serve 86% of India's farmers. By integrating multiple data sources (land records, Aadhaar, eKYC), eKCC reduces processing time from weeks to hours while ensuring transparency and reducing human error. The startup's AIFIS platform for Agriculture Infrastructure Fund interest subvention claims demonstrates comprehensive digital ecosystem thinking. This partnership is significant because it validates NABARD's approach of empowering existing cooperative structures rather than creating parallel systems. With India's agricultural credit target of ₹20 lakh crore for FY 2026-27, such digital solutions are crucial for achieving financial inclusion goals. The investment also signals NABARD's evolution from a pure development finance institution to an active venture catalyst, potentially inspiring other development banks to embrace fintech partnerships for last-mile delivery.
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