Annapurna Finance raises $30 mn

Mumbai: Microlender Annapurna Finance on Tuesday announced that it has raised $30 million in a fresh funding round led by impact investor Nuveen Global Impact Strategy. The funding will help it expand credit portfolio to women borrowers under the joint liability group and self help group model, an official statement. The company's chief financial officer Satyajit Das declined to share the details of the stake which will be owned by Nuveen, restricting it to say that it will be a significant minority stake. The funding is happening through the issue of compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) which will be converted into equity within a year, he said, adding that Nuveen also gets a board seat. The company has a loan book of Rs 4,700 crore spread across 18 lakh clients, and is present in 313 districts across 18 states, as per the statement.

Radhika Shroff, the managing director for private impact investing at Nuveen, said Annapurna has helped women entrepreneurs grow their businesses and successfully supported clients through the Covid-19 pandemic. Das said a big focus for the company is in east and central India, and it will be focusing on the newly-entered south Indian market after the fund raise.

Its existing investors include Asian Development Bank, SIDBI, Oman India Joint Investment Fund, Belgian Investment Organization, SIDBI Venture Capital, DCB Bank, Oiko Credit, Women's World banking and Bamboo Capital Partners, the statement said. Nuveen manages over $5.8 billion in public and private markets impact investing strategies, and has already invested nearly $500 million in direct and indirect private equity capital across over 200 portfolio companies.