Experian India launches Grameen Score for rural borrowers

By Vriti Gothi

Experian Credit Information Company of India has launched the Experian Grameen Score, an advanced credit scoring model designed to expand formal credit access across rural India. This initiative seeks to empower rural consumers and self-help groups (SHGs) by equipping credit institutions with deeper insights into their financial behaviour, repayment capacity, and overall creditworthiness.

Developed in alignment with the Government of India’s financial inclusion agenda and the Reserve Bank of India’s directives to enhance credit penetration among underserved communities, the Experian Grameen Score represents a significant milestone in building a more inclusive financial ecosystem. The model enables credit institutions to assess and serve rural borrowers more confidently and responsibly supporting millions of individuals and families on their journey towards financial empowerment.

The Grameen Score has been specifically engineered to reflect the realities of rural India, where many individuals and women entrepreneurs display prudent financial habits despite limited formal credit histories. By leveraging diverse data points such as repayment patterns on microloans, credit mix typical to rural economies, and migration trends between rural and urban regions the score delivers a more holistic view of borrowers’ financial reliability.

This enhanced visibility enables lenders to make faster, data-driven decisions while promoting fairer access to credit for agriculture, micro-enterprises, education, housing, and other essential needs. By integrating the Grameen Score into their assessment processes, financial institutions can expand their reach, optimise risk management, and contribute to the nation’s broader financial inclusion goals.

Manish Jain, Chairman of Experian Credit Information Company of India, said, “The Experian Grameen Score aligns with India’s agenda of inclusive growth. By helping institutions assess credit risk more effectively in rural areas, we are not only improving access to finance but also supporting the development of a more resilient and transparent credit ecosystem. Experian’s Grameen Score reflects our commitment to innovation with purpose. By combining robust data analytics and local market understanding, we are enabling financial institutions to lend confidently in rural India, helping bridge the credit gap and supporting sustainable economic growth.”