Norwest, Kedaara lead $59m round for India NBFC

Evolvence India and Growth Catalyst Partners came in as new investors. It follows a INR3.5 billion Series E led by Norwest last year with support from Kedaara, as well as Lok Capital and Sarva Capital.

Total equity raised to date comes to more than $155 million. In 2019, BlueOrchard Finance, an impact investment manager owned by Schroders provided INR800 million in non-convertible debentures.

Veritas aims to meet a spectrum of credit needs for local micro and small to medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), including short-term loans for working capital, medium-term loans for business expansion, and long-term loans for asset creation.

It has facilitated INR17.5 billion in loans since its inception in 2015 for 60,000 customers across 218 branch locations in eight Indian states and one territory. The fresh capital will support a deepening of the existing footprint, an expansion into new geographies, and insulating the company from future macro shocks.

“The company has handled the COVID crisis which hit the MSME segment well and is today well-positioned to scale up the volumes significantly,” Veritas CEO Arulmany Duraisamy said in a statement.

“The informal micro-enterprises of the MSME segment in the rural areas which are the core focus segment of the organization have shown tremendous resilience during COVID and have demonstrated excellent repayment culture, despite enormous challenges during the last fifteen months.”

The demand for MSME credit options has underpinned consistent PE interest in India’s NBFC segment, even as market shocks have shaken up business models. This has included a strong shift toward retail-focused lending programs, especially in the service of MSMEs.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Financials
• Expansion
• India
• Norwest Venture Partners
• Kedaara Capital
• Evolvence Capital
• NBFCs
• Financial Services
• SME