Adar Poonawalla-backed Svasti Microfinance to raise Rs 150 crore

Svasti Microfinance, a start-up backed by Serum Institute of In­dia Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla, is in talks to raise Rs 150 crore in the next financial year, said a company executive.

 

This is likely to conclude by the third quarter of FY22, said Arunkumar Padmanabhan, co-founder of Svasti Micro­finance. The company, which supports women micro entrepreneurs thorough collateral-free loans, is in talks with both India and foreign investors to raise this round, Padmana­bhan said.

 

The Reserve Bank of India-licensed firm has just raised Rs 31 crore from its existing investors Poonawalla, Nordic Micro­finance Initiative, and Rajiv Dadlani Group.

 

“We plan to double our branches to 150 and our portfolio to Rs 800 crore by March 2022 with the help of these fundraises,” said Padmanabhan.

 

Founded in 2010 by Padmanabhan and Narayanan Subramaniam, the company is also planning to double its headcount to 1,600 in FY22 and enter new states such as Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.