Education-focused NBFC’s Varthana Finance and Propelld secured debt funding, the companies said on Monday.
Varthana Finance
School education lender Varthana Finance has secured $3.2 million (Rs 27 crore) from Netherlands-based Triodos Investment Management in the form of non-convertible debentures.
The funding, provided through Triodos Fair Share Fund, will allow Varthana to expand its reach and support more schools and students in upgrading their infrastructure, facilities, and educational foundation.
Set up in 2013, Varthana lends money to low-cost private schools to help them build classrooms, buy equipment, and learning materials and invest in teacher training.
The firm has a presence in 16 states and union territories, through 40 branches. Varthana aims to make education accessible to over 10 million students by 2025.
In March 2024, the firm’s co-founder and chief executive officer Steve Hardgrave told VCCircle that the firm was looking to raise Rs 300-350 crore in a mix of primary and secondary components.
Bluebear Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which runs education-focused fintech startup Propelld has raised $25 million in a debt funding round for Edgro, its wholly-owned subsidiary that is a licensed non-banking financial company (NBFC).
Edgro has raised the amount from a host of lenders, including Credit Saison India Pvt Ltd, AU Small Finance Bank, InCred Financial Services Ltd and Northern Arc Capital Ltd.
Propelld is a fintech startup set up by IIT Madras alumni Bibhu Prasad Das, Victor Senapaty and Brijesh Samantaray in 2019. It enables financing solutions for learners pursuing education programmes at vetted partner institutions.