Chennai-based non-banking financial company Samunnati Financial Intermediation & Services Pvt. Ltd has raised $5 million (around Rs 35 crore) in debt funding from Dutch development bank FMO.
Samunnati raised the funding by issuing non-convertible debentures, according to a press statement. FMO made the investment through MASSIF, a Dutch government fund that it manages.
Samunnati will use the funds to support organisations of farmers with small land holdings as well as agricultural enterprises by financing their working capital requirements.
“We share a strong synergy in our focus on agricultural value chains with a view to providing working capital solutions, linkages with markets and advisory services to enable value chains to reach a higher equilibrium," said Anilkumar SG, managing director and chief executive at Samunnati.
Jeroen Harteveld, fund manager at MASSIF, said Samunnati enables underserved smallholder farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises in the agriculture value chain to obtain financing. “This makes the organisation a perfect fit with MASSIF’s strategy,” he said.
Incorporated in 2014, Samunnati provides loans to farmers, farmer producer organisations, community-based organisations and agricultural enterprises. The company began operations as an NBFC from 2016.
The company has presence in 14 states and has so far disbursed over Rs 1,400 crore in loans, the statement said. It offers non-financial services such as market linkage, advisory and trade services through its wholly owned subsidiary Samunnati Agro Solutions.
In January 2018, it had raised Rs 150 crore ($23.5 million) in a Series C round of funding from Swiss impact investor responsAbility and existing investors Elevar Equity and Accel Partners.
Last month, Mint reported that Samunnati was in talks with private equity firms to raise up to Rs 250 crore.
FMO has a committed portfolio of 9.2 billion euros in more than 85 countries. It finances projects in sectors such as agribusiness, food and water, energy and financial institutions in underserved markets.
Last December, FMO had provided debt funding of Rs 200 crore to non-banking financial company Northern Arc Capital. The same month, microfinance company Satin Creditcare Network raised $30 million (Rs 216 crore) in debt funding from FMO.