Fusion Microfinance serving rural women raises Series-E funding of Rs 520 Cr from Warburg Pincus

Delhi-based non-banking financial company and microfinance institution Fusion Microfinance has closed Series E funding of Rs 520 crore in a round led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus. The investment round includes both a primary fund raise and secondary sale by early-stage investors Incofin, NMI ,BIO and SIDBI. Existing investor Creation Investment also participated in this round.

In a statement, the company said that the fresh capital will help it to selectively evaluate potential acquisition opportunities.

Fusion works closely with underprivileged women. On its website, the company notes that its client base comprises exclusively of women living in rural and semi-urban areas: "Our focus is reaching out to unbanked and providing financial services to women entrepreneurs belonging to the economically and socially deprived section of the society. Our responsibilities are not restricted merely to financial support but also to acquaint the clients to manage their financials by disseminating financial literacy to them."

On the fund raise, Devesh Sachdev, CEO, and Founder of Fusion, said,

This investment would support our endeavour to develop into one of India’s most preferred companies in the financial inclusion space.

It is worth noting that this is Warburg Pincus’s first investment in the microfinance sector in India. Spark Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to the transaction.

Started in 2010 by Ashish Tiwari and Devesh, the company has cumulatively disbursed over Rs 5,000 crore so far. It has a pan-India presence through 500 branches across 200 under-developed districts in 18 states of India, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra, among others.

As of September, it has an outstanding portfolio of Rs 2,050 crore, serving about 1.3 million customers across India, the company stated.

This round follows the previous fund raise of Rs 80 crore from existing investors US-based private equity firm Creation Investments, Oikocredit and GAWA Capital in February this year. Previously, Fusion raised Series D funding of Rs 162 crore from Creation Investments in August 2016.