Satya MicroCapital Ltd, focused on self-employed rural women, has raised fresh equity of Rs 153 crore ($21 million) from Japan-based Gojo & Company Inc.
This takes the total funds raised by the non-bank lender to Rs 260 crore.
Earlier in May 2020, the company raised Rs 105 crore from Gojo. In the latest funding, the Tokyo-based firm has almost doubled its stake in the lender to 49.9%, Satya MicroCapital told VCCircle.
In April 2020, the lender’s CEO Vivek Tiwari had said Gojo held about 25% stake in the company.
The Japanese firm, which holds stakes in several microlenders, had led a Rs 43 crore equity funding round in Satya MicroCapital in August 2018.
Previously, the lender raised Rs 16 crore from Dia Vikas Capital in October 2017 and Rs 11.5 from existing investors through a rights issue in June 2018.
The latest funding is among the largest equity infusions received by a microlender during the pandemic which has roiled the sector.
Tiwari said, “The client base is predominantly self-employed rural women in rural and suburban areas, who are the most vulnerable in the COVID-19 era. The capital raised will be used to expand operations to a broader spectrum thereby providing financial access to women micro-entrepreneurs for livelihood rehabilitation.”
At present, the company has a net worth of about Rs 425 crore. It reported a loan book of Rs 1,000 crore in the financial year ending March 2020 and expects a AUM (assets under management) growth of around 40% in March 2021.
The firm commenced operations in January 2017. It has provided microloans to more than 4.5 lakh self-employed women micro-entrepreneurs across 21 states in the country. The company currently operates more than 170 branches.
It caters to those who seek credit help for income generation and growth in several focus sectors such as agriculture, animal husbandry, business/trade, production/services, and water sanitation.
Gojo is a Japan-based holding company for microfinance institutions around the world that aims to provide financial access for everyone in developing countries. The company is headquartered in Tokyo and has subsidiary microfinance institutions in various countries such as Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.
