[Funding alert] Samunnati raises $20M in debt from US International DFC

US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has committed $20 million debt funding to a non-banking financial company (NBFC) Samunnati Financial Intermediation and Services Pvt Ltd, to help it expand financing and technical assistance to low-income farmers and enterprises throughout the agricultural value chain in India.

Founded in 2014, Chennai-based Samunnati is a specialised agri value chain solutions provider that offers customised financial, co-financial, and non-financial solutions to farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and agricultural enterprises across the value chain.

Anilkumar SG, Founder and CEO, Samunnati said,

“Samunnati is working with many FPOs on the supply side and agri enterprises on the demand side across 19 states in India. We are delighted to partner with DFC as this will help us further offer customised financial solutions, using social and trade capital, to FPOs and SMEs, enabling the agri value chain to operate at a higher equilibrium.”

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Samunnati’s value chain financing model expands inclusion of smallholder farmers into the formal financial system while optimising their costs by enabling agriculture value chains to operate at a higher equilibrium, contributing to increased productivity, enhanced earnings, and improved market reach.

Samunnati, which disbursed over Rs 4,000 crore worth of loans since its inception, has previously raised equity financing from Elevar, Accel, ResponsAbility, and Nuveen, and debt financing from a host of local and international financial institutions. The company has a presence in more than 54 agri value chains spread across 19 states in India.

Ajay Rao, Managing Director – South Asia Region, DFC who led this transaction added,

“We are very impressed with Samunnati’s pioneering work in agriculture value chain finance in India which contributes to making agriculture value chains more efficient, enables more produce to flow through the value chain, lowers food waste, and provides for higher and stable incomes for smallholder farmers.”

DFC, the US' development bank, provides financing to address critical challenges across emerging markets globally. DFC invests across sectors including energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and technology and provides financing for small businesses and women entrepreneurs in order to create jobs in emerging markets.