BusinessWire India
Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], June 5: One of India's leading MSME lending institutions, Vistaar Finance, has received funding of US $25M, out of a committed loan of US $50mn, from the U.S. government's development finance institution, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
Vistaar was founded in 2010 when MSME lending was not common in India. The company has developed the MSME financing market as a leader in providing long-term loans for this segment, which has traditionally been unserved or has had to contend with informal high-cost borrowing. Since its inception, Vistaar's financing has enabled over 2,50,000 + MSMEs across 12 states in India to enhance their productive capacity and hence incomes.
The company's clear vision to serve small businesses and be one of the important catalysts in India's drive towards "Make in India" has taken it to the strength of over 2,500 employees and AUM of INR ~4,154 cr as of March 2024. This loan from DFC comes on top of a primary equity infusion, which closed in mid-2023, amounting to ~$36mn from Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm focused on growth.
India has an MSME financing gap of over $230 billion, or 11% of GDP annually, with women-owned and -led enterprises facing disproportionate barriers to accessing finance. DFC's support is expected to assist Vistaar in expanding its secured MSME lending portfolio in India with an emphasis on serving women-owned and led enterprises and rural MSMEs.
Setuka Partners LLP, a boutique advisory firm focused on catalyzing patient capital from international financial institutions for emerging and frontier market enterprises, was the exclusive advisor to this transaction.
Speaking on the development, Avijit Saha, CEO of Vistaar Finance said, "We are extremely thankful to the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for this facility, which comes to us at the right time and helps us in our goal of strengthening women's lead entrepreneurship, further deepening our presence in rural markets, and reaching out to more unserved and underserved customers."
"DFC's $50 million investment in Vistaar Finance will expand access to capital for lending to small women-owned and -led enterprises in rural India facing barriers to financing," said James Polan, Vice President of DFC's Office of Health and Agribusiness. "DFC is proud to work alongside partners like Vistaar Finance to support increased access to financing for innovative enterprises in India."
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