Technology-led non-bank finance company (NBFC) Avanti Finance on Thursday said that it has raised $15 million (roughly Rs 111 crore) as a part of its Series A extended round from existing investors Oikocredit, Nomura, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Dr K R Shroff Foundation.
With this, Avanti has completed its Series A fundraise and has raised $41 million as a part of the round in equity and debt mix.
According to Avanti, it will use the funds to strengthen its deep-tech platform, bolster data science, enhance its product suite and expand the team to further credit operations.
It will further strengthen its ecosystem to partner with mission-aligned social enterprises and foundations, financial institutions, business correspondents and agtech innovators across the country, who can leverage Avanti’s platform to serve users in a digital first manner providing for scale and sustainability.
“The Avanti team is excited and ready to accelerate our mission. We are grateful to our Board and investors for reposing their faith in our unique business model to democratise credit to the next 100 million households and make every loan an impact story,” said Rahul Gupta, chief executive officer of Avanti.
Avanti’s leadership team consists of chief product & technology officer, Lalitesh Katragadda; chief operating officer, Manish Thakkar; as well as chief of partnerships, Sunil Kumar Tadepalli among others.
Unitus Capital acted as the exclusive financial transaction advisor to Avanti.
Avanti is a digital platform that facilitates a paperless, presence-less, and cashless approach to lending aimed towards reducing costs and friction for unserved and underserved segments, especially in rural India.
Avanti partners with a diverse set of organizations with strong roots in local communities to offer loan products that are hyperlocal and focused on livelihood sustainability.
It has a reach across 21 states covering 200 districts and looks to further expand its footprint.