SKS Microfinance continued its impressive growth rate, increasing the number of members by 171% from last fiscal year. This rate is an increase from last year�s Compound Annual Growth Rate of 161%.

SKS Founder and CEO, Vikram Akula, directly attributes this achievement to the July 2006 geographic expansion of the organization, when SKS pushed northward to start operations in 6 northern states. �Our focus on rapid geographic expansion has proved to be successful strategy. SKS now has a strong foothold in many northern areas, and will continue to expand within these states. I am confident next year�s growth rate will eclipse this year�s.�

In 1998, SKS launched operations in the drought-prone Deccan region of Andhra Pradesh. As of March 31, 1999, SKS had 190 clients. From 1999 to 2004, SKS focused on perfecting its systems and processes in its core market, Andhra Pradesh, where it had scaled to over 30,000 clients with a cumulative disbursement of 31.5 crores and 99% repayment rate by 2004. In April 2004, SKS expanded to 4 new markets � Karnataka, Maharasthra, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh � simultaneously � a move unprecedented in microfinance in India. By March 31st, 2006, SKS members totaled 201,493 with a cumulative disbursement of 252 crores, averaging annual growth rate of 160%.

More recently, SKS saw another phase of expansion in July 2007 to the northern states of Rajasthan, Utter Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chaatisgaargh. This move marked another unprecedented move in the microfinance industry in India and led to fiscal year-end figures of 603,933 clients and a cumulative disbursement of $163,284,616.