Light Microfinance garners US$ 10 million in Series-A funding

Ahmedabad based Light Microfinance (Light) has secured US$ 10 million (INR 75 Cr) in its Series-A funding from leading European Impact Investors Incofin (Belgian), Nordic Microfinance Initiative (Norwegian) and Triple Jump (Dutch). This is the first such investment by Triple Jump in India. The three funds follow an investment strategy aimed at creating social or environmental impacts in addition to financial gains. The point of impact investing is to use money and investment capital for positive social results.

Light's CEO Rakesh Kumar says, "This is a very important milestone. We are very happy to have three top investors joining us. The investment will boost our expansion plans in states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. We are also investing in multiple technology interventions like an AI-driven analytics platform and mobile applications to enhance sourcing, credit underwriting and collection capabilities through individualized mobile training modules and performance trackers."

In FY21, the Company reported a portfolio growth of 30% to 623 Cr with 0.9% NPA, which is less than one sixth as compared to the industry average in India. "This investment strengthens our balance sheet and will enable further expansion of our loan book to over Rs 1000 Cr," adds Aviral Saini, CFO at Light.

The investment round was led by Incofin. Aditya Bhandari, Partner & Co Regional Director, Incofin, said, "We are truly impressed with the management team and their commitment to the impact space over the last 11 years. They have identified the right trends for the industry and built a robust model. To compliment, they have planned smart technology investments which will bring significant benefits to all stakeholders."

Light Microfinance started its operations in 2009 and by March 2021, the company was catering to 2.17 lakh borrowers. It has a workforce of over 1400 people across 68 districts helping rural women access affordable loans for income generation leveraging company's technology platform.

Source : Equity Bulls

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