Kinara Capital closes a fresh equity round of Rs 200 crores by British International Investment

Credit and Finance for MSMEs: Women-led fintech lender Kinara Capital on Friday announced closing a fresh equity round of Rs 200 crores led by the development finance institution of United Kingdom Government, British International Investment (BII). 

Kinara Capital’s existing equity investors Nuveen, a United States-based investment manager and and the ASN Microkredietfonds, a Dutch microfinance fund advised by investment manager Triple Jump also participated in this round. 

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With this investment, Kinara Capital is looking to provide credit to over 2,00,000 MSMEs that will have the potential to create 1 million jobs in the next three years and generate over Rs 3,000 crores in incremental income for small businesses, said the company’s statement.  

The fintech lender offers collateral-free business loans through its myKinara app in the range of Rs 1-30 lakhs across manufacturing, trading, and services sectors of micro, small and medium businesses (MSMEs).  

With this new round of funding, the company plans to grow five times in the next three years and reach an Assets Under Management (AUM) of Rs 6,000 crores. 

Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India said, “women-led fintech company Kinara champions female empowerment and provides easier access to capital for small entrepreneurs across India.”

Other key equity investors in Kinara Capital are Gaja Capital, GAWA Capital, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF), and Patamar Capital. The exclusive advisor for the transaction was Edelweiss Financial Services. 

Hardika Shah, Founder and CEO, Kinara Capital, said, “we are honored to onboard British International Investment (BII) as our latest equity investor. The combined expertise and capital infusion from BII, Nuveen and Triple Jump, will expand Kinara Capital’s offerings to meet the rising demand of the MSME sector in India.” 

Manav Bansal, Managing Director and Head of India, British International Investment, said, “we are especially excited by its (Kinara) commitment to helping to expand financial inclusion to MSMEs, including increasing women’s access to finance which in turn promotes women’s entrepreneurship.”

He further highlighted that through this investment, he’s pleased to boost productivity within India’s MSME sector and facilitate entrepreneurial growth that will continue to transform the nation’s economy.

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Earlier in April, the Bangalore based company has closed a fresh equity round of Rs 380 crore led by Nuveen and ASN Microkredietfonds with over Rs 1.3 trillion of assets under management (AUM). 

Founded in 2011, Kinara Capital has disbursed Rs 3,500 crores till date across 75,000-plus collateral-free business loans.