Tata, Nilekani Promoted Avanti Finance To Soon Raise $ 30-40 Mn

Avanti Finance, the microloan-focused NBFC promoted by Ratan Tata and Nandan Nilekani from their personal philanthropic funds, is looking to raise $ 30-40 million (up to about Rs 285 crore) in fresh equity from impact investors and domestic financial institutions to fuel growth.
The Tata Group patriarch and IT maverick invested Rs 50 crore each, two years ago into the Bengaluru-headquartered company to part help a “population-scale problem with a population-size solution”, said Avanti Finance Chief Executive Rahul Gupta, who spent over two decades with GE Capital before taking up this job.
Avanti Finance is a financial inclusion platform built on an open-access digital model to create and deploy financial products in a touchless, presence-less and cashless interface to reach out to the unserved, under-served and the excluded at a hyperlocal level.
“We are looking at raising $ 30-40 million in growth capital by March-April 2020. New equity capital will be raised through diluting the promoters’ stake. Being an impact-focused entity, we are looking at onboarding impact investors and domestic financial investors,” Gupta told PTI.
In less than 18 months of operations, Avanti Finance has reached out to over 20,000 needy people and hopes to take this to over 2 lakh by 2022, Gupta said, adding that so far it has lent Rs 80 crore loans through its balance sheet.
However, the company plans to do more off-balance sheet lending going forward through loan co-origination with banks and cooperatives to reach out to more people to achieve its target of serving at least 2 lakh customers by 2022.
“We are planning an on-balance sheet loan book of Rs 1,000 crore and an off-balance sheet loan book of at least Rs 3,000 crore by 2022,” Gupta said. He also informed that both Tata and Nilekani have been returning every penny earned from operations to the company.
Avanti Finance is present in 25 districts across seven states (Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, MP, TN and UP) and operates through commercial and non-profit partners to meet the founders’ objectives of helping the needy in the most cost-effective manner. It prices loans at 18-22 per cent, which is at least 300 bps cheaper than the MFI (micro finance institutions) industry average.
USAA Stands Strong Amid Wildfire Losses, With More Than $1 Billion In Member Payments
Feb 05 2025 SAN ANTONIO, TX – February 5, 2025 – USAA, a leading financial services p... Read more
USAA Bank Board Appoints Michael Moran As Bank President
Jan 30 2025 San Antonio, TX – January 30, 2025 – Today, USAA Bank Board of Directors a... Read more
USAA Announces Juan C. Andrade As President And Chief Executive Officer
Global, Industry Leader and Public Servant Committed to Serving USAA, the Military Community and Their Families Read more
USAA Extends Sponsorship Of The Army-Navy Game Through 2030
Ahead of the 125th matchup of Army and Navy, USAA Continues Commitment to Academies Read more
Military Community Shows Financial Resilience, Growing Savings By 19% And Cutting Credit Card Balances By 23% Over Last Five Years, New USAA Bank Data Shows
USAA’s Military Financial Wellbeing Index highlights the impact of pandemic-era trends and inflation on service member... Read more
USAA Announces Scholarship For Military Spouses With Valero Alamo Bowl
San Antonio-area military spouses qualify to apply for a $7,500 scholarship. Read more