Annapurna Finance Raises $15 Million In Series A2 Funding The funds will be used to grow the loan book, invest in technology, expand geographically and further the vision of enabling financial inclusion at scale
By Teena Jose
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Annapurna Finance, a NBFC-MFI, has raised funds worth $15 million in Series A2 from Proparco. With the fresh funds, the total valuation amounts to $100 million. As per company statement, this is the fourth capital raise by Annapurna in the last 15 months. Annapurna will use the funds to grow its loan book, invest in technology, expand geographically and further its vision of enabling financial inclusion at scale. It will also help Annapurna in strengthening its tech stack to bring in more efficient, automated and paperless financial products to the unbanked and underbanked.
"We are thrilled to have our existing debt partner Proparco further support us and now partner us with on the equity side. Their belief in our ability to enable financial inclusion across the country and empower women has fortified our commitment to build a large financial service company. We continue to invest heavily in our tech capabilities and operations to further boost the financial inclusion objectives of Annapurna over the next decade and strive to take it towards our banking larger banking ambitions," said Gobinda Chandra Pattanaik, managing director, Annapurna Finance.
Annapurna has crossed the INR 6500 crore AUM milestone. It has a presence across 20 states across the country with over 980 branches and is continuously expanding while utilizing and building on its internal domain knowledge and its processes perfected since its inception, the company claimed in a statement.
"It gives us immense pleasure to back the founders, who have meticulously, thoughtfully and consistently built Annapurna, with a strong yet nimble business model that has focused on making financial services and products available to financially excluded people especially women in rural areas of India. We are looking forward to Annapurna's exciting journey and believe in their ability to grow profitably while also creating significant impact," said Diane Jegam, regional director-South Asia, Proparco.
Founded in 2009 by Gobinda Chandra Pattanaik and Dibyajyoti Pattanaik, Annapurna offers micro-credit loans, home improvement and MSME loans to individuals and small businesses.
