Delhi-based microfinance firm SV Creditline Pvt Ltd (SVCL) said on Friday it has raised $8 million (Rs 52 crore) in funding from global impact investment manager Blue Orchard.
The company received the amount in two equal installments in November and December via non-convertible debentures.
The transaction takes the total capital raised by the firm to Rs 150 crore. In November, promoter Sunil Sachdeva had also injected Rs 10 crore into the company through a preference share issue.
The company, which has been in operation for half a decade, is one of the fastest-growing mid-sized microfinance institutions.
According to a report by Microfinance Institutions Network, SVCL’s gross loan portfolio grew 97 per cent in 2014-15. In comparison, gross loan portfolio of mid-sized firms grew 51 per cent. The company’s loan portfolio grew 17 per cent in the first half of 2015-16 to Rs 494.21 crore as it added 1,57,889 clients.
SVCL also said that it is planning to launch three new products, including housing loans, in addition to micro-credit to the low-income population of the country.
Housing has been one of the key focus areas for the government. While the sector hasn’t seen much traction in the last few years, with programmes like ‘Housing for All’ the sector is expected to see huge inflow of capital.
The company said it will provide housing loans targeting clients in Rajasthan’s Alwar district and Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur. It will also offer green loans for e-rickshaws that would be starting in Delhi and for solar lamps in Hapur.
SVCL grew its presence from three states in 2013-14 to eight in 2015 with total number of locations increasing from 61 to 172. The firm expanded to Punjab this year and plans to enter more states.
Blue Orchard, headquartered in Switzerland, was founded in 2001 by an initiative of the UN as the first commercial manager of microfinance debt investments worldwide. To date, it has invested $3 billion in 300 institutions across 60 countries. It last invested in India in August when it put money in RGVN (North East) Microfinance via non-convertible debentures.