[Funding alert] Northern Arc Capital and Netherlands’ Triodos invest Rs 30 Cr in Shiksha

Northern Arc Capital, a debt platform for financial inclusion focused institutions, and Netherlands based impact investment fund, Triodos Investment Management today announced a Rs 30 crore investment in Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) issued by Chennai-based education finance company Shiksha Financial Services. 

Shiksha offers business loans to educational institutions and education loans to parents. The company will use the funds for growing its loan portfolio, to deepen presence in South India and expand to new states such as MP, Gujarat, and Rajasthan.

Kshama Fernandes, MD & CEO of Northern Arc said, 

“Education financing is emerging as an important sector of focus at Northern Arc. The financial inclusion landscape is expanding and we are noticing opportunities beyond traditional sectors like microfinance.” 

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Founded in 2014 by V L Ramakrishnan and Jacob Abraham, Shiksha offers business loans to educational institutions for their working capital needs, to create new infrastructure, and to purchase new assets. While its study loan is uniquely designed to partner with parents to deliver uninterrupted education for their children. The company is currently operational in five states in the South and is serving more than 2,000 schools and over 2.2 million students.

V L Ramakrishnan, CEO of Shiksha, said, 

“Education finance has so much unmet demand in India. Our goal is to support the educational needs of 200+ million school student population in the country. We see a massive opportunity to expand across the country and debt financing will play a critical role in enabling us to scale faster and grow our books.”

With a total assets under management of Rs 165 crore, Shiksha is backed by private equity investors like Aspada Investment, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, and Zephyr Peacock India.

Sagar Thakar, Senior Investment Officer at Triodos Investment Management said, 

“Shiksha plays an instrumental role in improving access to quality education in India. Education is an empowering force as it creates knowledge and equips children with the qualities and skills to shape and build their future. Parents from low-income families see education as a path out of poverty. With our loan, Shiksha can further expand its outreach, especially in semi-urban areas.”

(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)

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