Svasti Microfinance (Svasti) raised ₹47.5 crore from Adar Poonawalla, Abler Nordic, and the Rajiv Dadlani Group through a combination of equity and subordinated debt. 

They are the core investor group and have returned to support the microfinance company again. Poonawalla had previously participated in a round in 2021. Poonawalla, along with the Nordic Microfinance Initiative and the Rajiv Dadlani Group, invested ₹31 crore in Svasti. In 2023, Svasti raised an additional ₹40 crore from Abler Nordic and seven high-net-worth individuals.

Svasti has announced that this round of funding will help transform it from a traditional microfinance institution into a technology-driven financial services provider. The proceeds will be used to expand the company’s loan portfolio, enhance its proprietary digital infrastructure, and diversify its loan product offerings beyond traditional Joint Liability Loans. The aim is to reach an Assets Under Management of ₹1,400 crore by March 2027.

Svasti’s strategy involves using SvasTech, a proprietary fintech platform that incorporates embedded Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). SvasTech enhances credit underwriting for the informal micro-enterprise sector, which has historically been overlooked due to a lack of documented income proofs and collateral. The platform utilises advanced data analytics to assess risk with high precision.

Arunkumar Padmanabhan, co-founder of Svasti, stated that this investment validates their vision of becoming a diversified financial services provider and building a consumer finance business that balances high profitability with meaningful social impact. Narayanan Subramaniam, co-founder of Svasti, said they re-engineered SvasTech to support diverse financial products, moving beyond Joint Liability Group lending and enabling co-lending partnerships with banks and NBFCs. Svasti plans to grow its portfolio to ₹1,400 crore across 150 branches in seven states by March 2027.

Smriti Chandra, regional director for Asia at Abler Nordic (formerly Nordic Microfinance Initiative), noted that the company has shown resilience through multiple crises while remaining true to its core values. “This gives us confidence in the company as we continue to support them at a critical time for the sector,” Chandra added.