Kyndryl, a leading provider of mission-critical enterprise technology services, has been selected by ESAF Small Finance Bank, a new age bank with over nine million customers and 787 branches across India, to transform and manage the mission-critical technology that underpins its operations and future banking capabilities.
Kyndryl Consult, Kyndryl’s technology advisory services, and Kyndryl Vital, the Company’s innovative
design-led co-creation approach, will support ‘StratoNeXt,’ ESAF Bank’s digital initiative to modernize its
technology. Through this partnership, Kyndryl will engage with ESAF Bank to build a modern, regulatory-
compliant infrastructure and update and migrate enterprise applications to this new environment –
enabling greater agility, high-availability and sustained innovation.
Lingraju Sawkar, President, Kyndryl India, said, “India’s growing rural banking sector is a key pillar to
address the increasing demand for affordable credit. Our deep expertise in technology and experience in
managing mission-critical banking and financial services systems in India uniquely positions Kyndryl to
support ESAF Bank’s vision of promoting financial inclusion and economic development. We look
forward to growing our engagement with ESAF Bank to help it unlock new growth opportunities in its
digital transformation journey.”
George K John, Executive Director, ESAF Small Finance Bank, stated, “ESAF Bank’s journey towards
becoming India’s premier social bank is anchored in our steadfast commitment to inclusive and
responsible banking, where we leverage technology to seamlessly blend digital innovation with
meaningful physical interactions, thereby delivering personalized, accessible, and engaging customer
experiences to uplift communities. By modernizing our technology infrastructure and enhancing our
service delivery capabilities under the strategic ESAF 2.0 StratoNeXt project, we aim to deliver a secure,
seamless, and customer-centric digital banking experience. Our goal is to empower not only our
customers but also the broader communities we serve. The partnership with Kyndryl significantly
advances this vision.”
As part of this strategic collaboration, Kyndryl will implement a comprehensive, multi-layered
cybersecurity framework designed to strengthen the bank’s cybersecurity posture. This robust security
architecture will facilitate ESAF Bank’s ability to efficiently introduce innovative security-rich banking
solutions, enabling minimal disruption to operations.
Kyndryl plans to establish a dedicated support and delivery center in Kochi this year to provide services
for ESAF Bank and other customers. This strategic expansion will harness Kerala’s skilled technology
workforce to reinforce and deploy Kyndryl’s advanced delivery capabilities for their customers in South
India and generate local employment opportunities.