Small business lender Kinara Capital said on Thursday it has raised ₹100 crore from private equity funds and impact investors, which will help it increase its investment in technology to improve customer experience and assess credit decisions at a faster rate.
The round was led by its existing investors, including mid-market private equity firm Gaja Capital, Spanish investment firm GAWA Capital, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and Patamar Capital, an impact investor based in San Francisco.
Last July, Kinara raised $5 million in debt from Swiss impact investor ResponsAbility Investments AG. It had earlier raised₹96 crore led by Gaja Capital.
The lender claims to have disbursed ₹1,160 crore in loans so far to over half a million people.
Hardika Shah, founder and chief executive, Kinara Capital, said: “We are honoured with the vote of confidence from our investors as we aim to reach new milestones by investing in our people and technology. Impact-focused sustainable growth is at the heart of all that we do to create access to capital for small business entrepreneurs.”
Kinara Capital provides loans between ₹2 lakh and 25 lakh, without taking property collateral from small business entrepreneurs. Women were hired in 22% of the jobs created by small businesses funded by Kinara Capital, and about 28% of all jobs went to first-time earners, said a company statement.
Kinara Capital has built a fully digital platform that eliminates paperwork and saves time for both customers and employees to fast track the credit decision process, and it claims to disburse funds within 5-7 days of receiving the loan application. The company will now expand investment in services such as autopay and auto-disbursement. At the backend, the company will further develop its proprietary machine-learning lending algorithms to fast track financial inclusion.
It also plans to add 20 branches in high-growth locations in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Kinara Capital currently employs 1,000 people and plans to hire about 300 more this year.
Source: Mint