Nuveen leads $50m round for India MSME lender Kinara
Kinara Capital, an Indian non-banking financing company (NBFC) that lends to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) has received USD 50m in funding led by Nuveen, the impact unit of Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America (TIAA).
Other participants included ASN Microkredietfonds, a Dutch microfinance fund advised by impact-focused manager Triple Jump. The new equity funding will support the expansion of Kinara’s products and services to meet increasing credit demand, according to a statement. The firm aims to grow its assets 500% by 2025 and disburse USD 1bn in MSME business loans in the next three years.
Kinara has previously raised more than USD 30m across several funding rounds. Gaja Capital, Gawa Capital, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, US-based VC firm Patamar Capital (formerly Unitus Impact Fund), and Sorenson Impact Foundation number among its other backers.
The NBFC has more than 110 branches across 90-plus cities in India and provides digital services through the myKinara app, which can move from loan decision to disbursement within 24-hours. It makes collateral-free business loans of USD 1,000 to USD 30,000 to MSMEs in 300 sub-sectors in manufacturing, trading, and services.
“Kinara Capital and its leadership are par excellence in how they have disrupted small business lending in India,” said Rekha Unnithan, co-head of private impact investing at Nuveen. She will join the Kinara board with Stephen Lee, Nuveen’s director of private equity impact.
“Taking a digital-first approach without compromising on human customer service, Kinara has outclassed others with its ability to address the pain points of MSMEs in India. With a decade worth of proprietary data, Kinara has perfected its qualification processes and turnaround time.”
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