North India-based microfinance institution (MFI) Satin Creditcare Network Limited has raised Rs 28.44 crore
($4.7 million) in a fresh round of funding from Norwegian impact investor NMI Fund III KS (NMI), as per a company statement.
Satin Creditcare saw its portfolio grow to Rs 1,050 crore as of March 31, 2014 against Rs 580 crore as on March 31, 2013. The number of its banking relationships is bigger than most MFIs in the country; these include 18 public sector banks, 11 private sector banks, five foreign banks and 18 domestic and foreign institutional lenders.
In the last financial year ended March 31, 2014, it mobilised Rs 1,121 crore through debt funding, cash credit limit and securitisation/assignment transactions and was successfully able to diversify funding sources over the year through increasing reliance on non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and securitisation of portfolio.
Satin Creditcare said it also raised Rs 6 crore from an unnamed Indian investor through a private placement of cumulative non-convertible compulsorily redeemable preference shares last quarter as tier II capital.
Its institutional investors include ShoreCap II Limited (managed by Equator Capital Partners LLC), Danish Microfinance Partners K/S and MV Mauritius Limited.
A year ago the Delhi-based MFI provided a complete exit to Lok Capital, an early investor in the firm.
The newly infused equity will provide the firm with more resources to grow in the rural areas in North India and impact more than 100,000 households and increase the outreach to 1 million borrowers.
HP Singh, chairman cum managing director, Satin Creditcare, said, “With this round of capital infusion, we are poised for reasonably higher growth as well as diversification and scale. We are confident that we will be able to expand and provide a range of financial services to the underserved population of the country.”
Knut Frigaard, investment director, NMI, said: “We are enthusiastic about investing in the underpenetrated Northern region of India in order to reach more of the unbanked population in the rural areas. We look forward to develop new; innovative product solutions that will further positively impact the quality of life for the clients, especially in the health and sanitation field.”
Unitus Capital was the sole financial advisor in the transaction.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
