PJSC Sberbank : Sber closes pilot soft lending deal in data system for digital agribusiness services

The Soft Lending module of the data system for digital agribusiness services (IS DS) of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture is now in its trial operation phase. Sber took part in its development together with KontrolTuGou.Ru (ctrl2go). The first interaction on the platform while submitting an application was tested in conjunction with the Gorkovskiy multi-unit agricultural enterprise. Sber provided RUB 50 mn in financing.

Due to the Soft Lending module of the agribusiness's digital services system, agribusinesses, sole proprietors, and individuals will have quick access to the products of lending and financial organizations. The module will allow clients to apply for preferential loans and monitor the approval of applications in a one-stop source. For the federal and regional ministries, as well as the bank, the service will simplify and accelerate interaction and make it transparent. This will lead to a more complete use and accurate forecasting of subsidies for concessional lending. By standardizing the forms of interaction between regional executive authorities, manual operations and paperwork are minimized.

Sber and the Agriculture Ministry of Russia presented the first version of the super service during the 24^th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum this June.

Sergey Melamed, senior managing director, director of Corporate Business Development, Sberbank:

"Participation in the digital transformation of agriculture is a strategically important objective for us. We want to facilitate access to agribusiness state support measures for our clients and expect at least 50% of soft loans to be provided in the electronic form by the end of 2022. Sber's mission here is to enable agribusiness clients to take out loans seamlessly, which will be facilitated by the further development of the Ministry of Agriculture's data system."

More than 70,000 agricultural producers, banks, regional executive authorities and municipalities are expected to become users of the system. Enterprises will be able to choose the best state support measures by looking into the digital profile of an agribusiness. The system is being piloted in regions. All parts of Russia will join it in 2022.

Alexander Solodayev, CEO, AO Agrokombinat Gorkovskiy:

"We fully support the development of the digital system. It allows businesses to work with government agencies more effectively, simplifying and speeding up regulated procedures. For our part, we are also making every effort to keep up with the time. The system of digital agribusiness services is a modern and convenient way of obtaining targeted state support for agricultural producers. In their user accounts, agricultural producers can automatically select state support measures and apply for them, with several channels utilized to notify agribusiness of the possibility to obtain government assistance. Our organization finds it important that we can quickly receive a measure of state support for the agribusiness without paying a personal visit to government agencies and submit reporting through a one-stop source."

Alexander Dmitriev, acting CEO of Ctrl2Go, CEO of Clover Group:

"Thanks to the agribusiness state support venue, which is adapted for mobile and other devices, potential recipients will be able to apply for state support in a centralized way. This will ensure transparency and more accurately determine the real need of a region for subsidies. The obtaining of state support funds for agricultural producers will speed up to reach no more than 30 days since the application. Upon reaching its target stage, the system will be integrated with the data systems of key government agencies, such as the Federal Tax Service, the Ministry of Finance, the FBS, as well as those of banks and Rosagroleasing, which will allow stakeholders to obtain data fast when providing state support. When it comes to financial organizations, the introduction of the system will create a new channel for applications from borrowers and interactions with them, reducing labor costs for bureaucratic procedures by digitalizing the interaction with the governance bodies in agribusiness."