ChrysCapital leads $55m round for Indian education NBFC

Existing investors Elevar Equity, LGT Venture Philanthropy, Omidyar Network and Kaizen Private Equity also took part in the funding round, which comprised both a primary fundraise and secondary sales by early-stage investors, according to a statement. The new capital will be used to fund Varthana’s growth.

Varthana was launched in 2013 and provides debt financing to schools targeting low-income and rural students. Its loans are intended to help schools expand and improve their infrastructure and to invest in learning solutions. The NBFC has provided financing to more than 3,500 schools catering to 2.5 million students.

Kaizen, along with Zephyr Peacock India, led a INR930 million Series B round for Varthana in 2016. Elevar, LGT and Omidyar, which had participated in the company’s INR270 million Series A round in 2014, also took part in the Series B round.

“ChrysCapital believes that Varthana is well poised to create a dominant platform in a niche segment given a very passionate set of entrepreneurs along with a deep network, excellent customer relationships and a committed workforce,” said Ashish Agrawal, a director at ChrysCapital.

Currently ChrysCapital is investing its seventh fund, which closed last year at $600 million. The fund focuses on the business services, financial services, healthcare, consumer and manufacturing sectors, seeking minority growth and select control deals.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Financials
• Expansion
• India
• ChrysCapital Management
• NBFCs
• Kaizen
• LGT Capital Partners
• Education