Gaja leads $15m round for India's Kinara 

Spanish impact investor Gawa Capital also participated in the round, along with Unitus Impact Fund and existing backers the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. About INR700 million will be invested in Kinara directly, with the remainder going to buy a stake held by NBFC Shriram City Union Finance, according to a story in The Economic Times linked from Gaja's website.

Kinara was founded in 2011 in Bengaluru, and now operates across six states in India. The NBFC provides non-collateralized loans of INR100-150 million to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), with emphasis on the manufacturing sector. As of March 2017, its outstanding loan portfolio stood at INR1.9 billion, with over 6,000 active loans, and is expected to reach INR4 billion by the next fiscal year. Kinara will use the new capital to expand into new territories and deepen its presence in its current markets.

AVCJ Research has records of two previous funding rounds for Kinara: a $1 million commitment in 2013 from Sorenson Impact Foundation, and a 2014 investment of undisclosed size by the Dell Foundation.

Gaja is currently investing its third fund, which launched in 2013 and closed last year at $250 million. The firm targets investments that leverage domestic consumption growth: the first two deals in the fund are education start-up SportsVillage, acquired for INR650 million, and B2B frozen food provider Bakers Circle, to which Gaja committed INR360 million for a minority stake.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Financials
• Expansion
• India
• Gaja Capital Partners
• NBFCs
• Financial Services