Annapurna Finance on Friday said it has raised $15 million in Series A2 funding round from ProParco. Proparco is the private sector financial arm of the French public entity AgenceFrançaise de Dévelopement Group (AFD Group).
With this fundraise, the total funding round size has grown to $100 million. This is the fourth capital raised by Annapurna in the last 15 months, after attracting an investment of USD 30 million from Nuven Global Impact Fund in March 2021, USD 20 million from DEG in November 2021 and incentive capital, Axion and existing investors. 35 million USD. Oikocredit.
The Bhubaneswar-based company said it will use the funds to grow its loan book, invest in technology, expand geographically and further its vision of enabling large-scale financial inclusion.
“With a pan-India rural distribution network and a multi-product strategy, it provides micro-credit loans, home improvement and MSME loans to individuals and small businesses. The fundraising will help Annapurna strengthen its technology stack to bring more efficient, automated and paperless financial products to the unbanked and underbanked.”
Founded in 2009 by Govind Chandra Patnaik and Divyajyoti Patnaik, Annapurna claims to have crossed INR 6,500 crores in AUM. It is present and expanding continuously with more than 980 branches in 20 states across the country.
“We are thrilled to further support our existing debt partner ProParco and now partner with us on the equity side. Their belief in our ability to enable financial inclusion and empower women across the country has made India one of the biggest Our commitment to building one of the leading financial services companies has strengthened. We continue to invest heavily in our technology capabilities and operations to further fuel Annapurna’s financial inclusion objectives over the next decade and enable it to meet our larger banking ambitions. Gobind Chandra Patnaik, Managing Director, Annapurna Finance said.
“We are delighted to support the founders who have carefully, thoughtfully and consistently built Annapurna, with a strong yet nimble business model, that has pioneered financial services and products in rural areas of India. It has focused on providing financially excluded people to women. Diane Jegum, Regional Director – South Asia, ProParco, said.