Utkarsh Micro Finance raises INR 20.0 crore Series C funding round

Utkarsh Micro Finance Pvt ltd (Utkarsh) today announced the closure of its new round of infusion of INR 20.0 crore subscribed by its existing investors Aavishkaar Goodwell, International Finance Corporation and Norwegian Microfinance Initiative. Utkarsh, a registered Non-Banking Finance Company

(NBFC), currently operates in 24 districts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarkhand & Delhi. It has 102 branches, over 197,500 active clients and loan portfolio of INR 178 crore. Net worth of the company would stand at INR 65 crore post equity infusion.Varanasi based Utkarsh will use the capital infusion to strengthen its presence in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. The capital will enable the company to invest in strategic initiatives.

“The investment of INR 20 crore is going to boost our growth plans. It has come at the appropriate time when we see lot of positive development in the sector, with more regulatory clarity and better availability of debt funding from the banks & FIs . It is significant that additional capital has been subscribed entirely by the existing investors, strongly indicating their confidence in the sector and Team Utkarsh. It is also important that all the investors have a strong inclination for the social sector and truly believe in double bottom-line approach. We do see that this investment will facilitate further penetration of microfinance in the most underpenetrated geographies of the country “said Mr. Govind Singh MD and CEO, Utkarsh.

“We are very excited to continue to support and participate in the financial inclusion efforts of Utkarsh. Our follow-on investment in the company underscores our faith in Govind & his team to further scale and consolidate Utkarsh’ position in the under-served Northern belt of the country” said Mr. Ajay Maniar, Principal, Aavishkaar

“IFC’s investments in microfinance sector will help reach women customers in unserved and underserved markets,” said Thomas Davenport, IFC Director for South Asia. “The investment is in line with our strategy of promoting greater financial inclusion.”

It is encouraging to further increase NMIs investment in one of the leading MFIs in Northern India. The management has shown strong performance over the last two years, and NMI continues to support sustainable growth and social impact investing in Utkarsh bringing favourable changes to the lives of the poor “, said Mr. Ulf Linders, MD, NMI Frontier Fund.

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