Microfinance lender Annapurna Finance raises $15M from Proparco

Annapurna Finance is a Bhubaneshwar-based startup that is basically a microfinance lender company. Recently, the company has been observed to raise $15 million in a Series A2 funding round. the funding was backed by Proparco, the private-sector financing arm of the French Development Agency (AFD).

The company is planning to utilize the fresh capital funding in the following ways:

To grow its loan book,
Invest in technology,
Expand geographically, and
Enabling financial inclusion at scale.

Annapurna Finance was founded by Gobinda Chandra Pattanaik and Dibyajyoti Pattanaik in the year 2009. Annapurna is an RBI registered Non-Banking Financial Company-Micro Finance Institution (NBFC-MFI) that provides micro-credit loans, home improvement, and MSME loans to individuals and small businesses.

The company has developed a pan India rural distribution network across 20 states and promised to have over Rs 6,500 crores Assets Under Management (AUM).

A micro-finance loan is defined as a collateral-free loan that has been provided to a household having an annual income of up to Rs 3 lakh.

The guidelines had aroused a breather to NBFC-MFIs as the minimum requirement of total loan assets, for qualifying for an NBFC-MFI license, was decreased to 75% from 85% earlier.

EXECUTIVE OPINION:

“The fundraiser will help the company in strengthening its tech stack to bring in more efficient, automated, and paperless financial products to the unbanked and underbanked,” it added.

Gobinda Chandra Pattanaik, Managing Director, Annapurna Finance, said, “We are thrilled to have our existing debt partner Proparco further support us and now partner with us on the equity side. Their belief in our ability to enable financial inclusion across the country and empower women has fortified our commitment to building one of India’s largest financial services companies.”

Tags : Microfinance lender, Annapurna Finance, StartupsDekho

Startups

Top 10 innovative startup ideas that worked well in 2023.

Posted By news desk

Startups

What do Investors look for in a startup?

Posted By news desk

Microfinance lender Annapurna Finance raises $15M from Proparco

Tags : Microfinance lender, Annapurna Finance, StartupsDekho

Related Post

Popular Post

Trending Posts