It’s been a busy week for impact investors committed to financial inclusion in India. A new credit fund launched to help small businesses finance green upgrades. And two companies are expanding into harder-to-reach and informal communities with business and home loans.
First up: Hyderabad-based CredRight secured $10 million in Series B equity to extend lending services to India’s smallest business owners in mid-sized towns and small cities. The company has built a customer base of more than 20,000 micro-business owners over the past decade. Its app allows business owners to apply for a collateral-free loan from anywhere, but it also runs a network of more than 100 branches.
The funding round will support its growth in cities with 10,000 to 50,000 residents.
Abler Nordic, a public-private impact fund manager that focuses on financial inclusion, led the investment round. It was the Oslo-based organization’s first deal for its fifth fund. The Dell Foundation and Unleash Capital also participated.
Green business lending
Private credit fund manager Avana Companies secured a license to begin green lending for small businesses in India, including clean energy upgrades. The Arizona-based firm made its first $1.5 million in loans through its LendThrive Finance group and plans to grow the business line to $25 million over three years.
Avana founder Sundip Patel said the company set up a local lending operation to make it easier to direct money from the US to India’s undercapitalized small businesses.
“As an entrepreneur with Indian heritage, I’ve seen firsthand how access to capital transforms businesses and communities,” he said.
Affordable mortgages
Pune-based Altum Credo secured new equity financing from British International Investment.
Altum Credo provides home construction loans and mortgages to India’s first-time home buyers, focusing primarily on lower-income households and women borrowers in small cities and towns. It has more than 15,000 borrowers in six states.
BII reupped its investment in the mortgage lender following a $4 million equity check last year.
