NBFC Kinara Capital raises Rs 100 cr from Gaja Capital, 3 other investors

Kinara Capital, a lender to small businesses in India, on Thursday announced that it has secured a funding of Rs 100 crore from private equity and impact investors — Gaja Capital, GAWA Capital, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Patamar Capital.

Kinara said the funding will accelerate the company's growth in both new and existing markets and help increase its investment in technology that assesses credit decisions at a faster rate. Kinara Capital has disbursed Rs 1,160 crore across more than 33,000 loans till date.

Hardika Shah, Founder and CEO of Kinara Capital, said, “We are honoured by the vote of confidence from our investors as we aim to reach new milestones by investing in our people and technology.”

Kinara Capital provides collateral-free loans in the range of Rs 2-25 lakh from small-business entrepreneurs.

Women were hired in 22 per cent of the jobs created by small businesses funded by Kinara Capital, and about 28% of all jobs went to first-time earners, the lender said.

The company has built a digital platform that eliminates paperwork and saves time for both customers and employees to fast track the credit process. Funds are disbursed within 5-7 days of receiving a loan application. 

The company will now expand investment in services that would enhance customer experience with features such as autopay and auto-disbursement. 
 

The company will further develop its proprietary machine-learning lending algorithms to fast track financial inclusion for thousands of small business entrepreneurs.