MSME-focused MBFC Saarathi Finance lands Rs 475 Cr in maiden funding round

Saarathi Finance, a non-banking financial company (NBFC), has raised Rs 475 crore in its first funding round from TVS Capital Funds, Lok Capital, Evolvence Equity Partners, Paragon Partners, and angel investors.

The Series A funding included an infusion of Rs 350 crore from external investors and the rest came from the founders—Vivek Bansal and Sunil Daga. The funding comes at a valuation of Rs 900 crore.

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Saarathi Finance focuses on providing credit to MSMEs located in semi-urban and rural areas across the states of Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

On the funding round, Saarathi Finance Founder and CEO Vivek Bansal said in a statement, “We are committed to empowering Bharat’s entrepreneurs by providing more than just credit—a partnership that values and supports their growth.”

Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Mumbai, Saarathi Finance combines technology-driven solutions with personalised customer engagement, offering both secured and unsecured loans tailored to the needs of MSMEs. The founders have previously worked at InCred and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

TVS Capital Funds CMD Gopal Srinivasan said, “Their focus on MSMEs in underserved regions resonates with our commitment to empowering next-generation entrepreneurs who are the backbone of India's economic development.”

With flexible income assessment and rapid loan processing, the NBFC aims to make credit more accessible to entrepreneurs who have traditionally been overlooked by formal financial institutions.

Lok Capital Managing Director Rajat Bansal said, “We have been a part of the evolving secured micro-enterprise lending space for over a decade now, and see innovation and capital emerging as serious moats. We are excited to partner with Saarathi as the next generation of market leaders in this space.”