Sindhuja Microcredit secures $14.5M in Series C funding led by GAWA Capital, Oikocredit

Rural-focused lender Sindhuja Microcredit has raised $14.5 million (Rs 120 crore) in a Series C funding round led by GAWA Capital (through its vehicle Huruma Fund) and Oikocredit.

Existing investors Carpediem Capital and Abler Nordic also participated in the round.

The company will deploy the funds to expand the business in its existing geography and foray into new geographies as well as new product lines, it said in a release.

"Sindhuja is focused on supporting people from rural areas and women borrowers, and our collaboration aims to empower India's underserved farming community. We're confident that the company is poised to meet this challenge by providing products and services of value to this segment," Agustín Vitórica, Co-Founder, GAWA Capital said.

Sindhuja Microcredit said it presently manages 235 branches and boasts assets under management (AUM) exceeding Rs 1,000 crore. Throughout its six-year tenure, Sindhuja has extended micro-loans to more than 400,000 self-employed women micro-entrepreneurs across nine states situated in the northern, eastern, and western regions of India.

"The funding further strengthens our commitment to make financial service easily available to the financially excluded and MSME entrepreneurs through technology-driven solutions," Sindhuja's Managing Director Abhisheka Kumar and CEO Malkit Singh Didyala said in a statement.

Established in 2018 by Kumar and Didyala, Sindhuja Microcredit is an NBFC-MFI registered with the Reserve Bank of India and based in Noida. The company extends financial support to skilled women entrepreneurs facing capital constraints. Additionally, it offers business loans to traders, shopkeepers, and farmers, addressing their working capital needs and facilitating business expansion.