Non-banking financial company Dvara KGFS on Monday said it has raised 8 million euros ($9.52 million) from social impact funds Invest In Visions (Germany) and Darlehnskasse Münster (Luxembourg).
The funds were raised via external commercial borrowings (ECBs), said Dvara in a statement.
Joby CO, chief executive officer of Dvara, said that the company will use the funds to lend to microfinance and micro-enterprise customers such as retail shops, small dairies and agri entrepreneurs in rural parts of India.
The ECBs will also provide a boost to the company's fundraise plan from overseas lenders in the coming financial year 2021-22, said Dvara finance chief Vijayakumar G.
Dvara, incorporated in 2008, says it provides financial services in rural India through its technology-backed wealth management approach. It was a wholly owned unit of IFMR Rural Channel Services Pvt. Ltd. In March 2019, it spun off into a separate company .
Dvara has a presence in Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand. It has 308 rural branches catering to more than one million rural customers.
In 2019, Dvara raised Rs 97 crore ($14 million) in a Series E round led by Stakeboat Capital. LeapFrog Investments and parent Dvara Trust also participated in the round.
Invest In Visions, established in 2006 by Edda Schröder, focuses on segments including sustainable agriculture, social enterprises, and social impact lending. It has made investments in India.
Last year, it provided debt to non-banking lender and financial technology firm Aye Finance.
In 2019, it invested in Microlender ASA International.
