Social sector investor Accion has announced that its Frontier Investments Group, along with Saama Capital (an India venture-focused investment firm), has invested $4 million as part of an $8 million investment into Gurgaon-based NBFC Shubham Housing Development Finance Company Pvt Ltd. Existing investors Elevar Equity and Helion Venture Partners brought in the rest of the money in the second round of funding for the non-banking finance company.
VCCircle had first reported on Nov 12 that the NBFC was raising close to $8 million from Elevar Equity, Helion, Accion and Saama Capital. Our earlier report said that each of these investors brought in nearly an equal amount of $2million for the transaction.
Shubham also raised around $2 million from Elevar Equity and Helion Venture Partners around two years ago.
Shubham essentially focuses on the urban low-income and informal income families, and facilitates home loans and home improvement loans for them. The company’s operating model seeks to transcend document-based underwriting and follows an interview-based approach to understand a customer’s income and expense flows, says the company website. It has operations in 17 locations across seven Indian states.
“The company, through its experienced management team, has created a model that helps fill a very important gap in affordable, accessible and efficient housing financing for India’s vast entrepreneurial and self-employed population,†said Ash Lilani, managing partner of Saama Capital.
“Shubham’s innovative operating model has the potential to change the way, a significant number of urban Indians live – by delivering critical financial services to self-employed, low-income people,†said Monica Brand, head of Accion’s Frontier Investments, an early and growth-stage equity vehicle that invests in breakthrough innovations which can enhance financial service delivery to the under-banked and the unbanked population.
Monica Brand and Ash Lilani will join Shubham’s board as part of the transaction.
“At the heart of our business model is the ability to understand what our clients are genuinely able to afford, and ensuring they get the appropriate loan for a better and safer home,†said Sanjay Chaturvedi, co-founder and CEO of Shubham. “We are delighted to have investors of Accion/Frontier and Saama’s calibre and excited at the value they bring, given their long experience across geographies,†he added.
Shubham was set up in 2010 by Sanjay Chaturvedi and Ajay Oak. After obtaining registration from the National Housing Bank in February 2011, the company has steadily expanded its reach, starting with branches in Delhi-NCR and Gujarat, and subsequently catering to customers in Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Its primary products include mortgages and home-improvement loans.
(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)