Bengaluru-based Avanti Finance Raises $24 Million in Series B Funding for Financial Inclusion
- ByStartupStory | April 3, 2023
A Bengaluru-based NBFC that focuses on financial inclusion and is technology-led, Avanti Finance, has raised $24 million in Series B funding from Rabo Partnerships and IDH Farmfit Fund.
According to a statement from Avanti Finance, the investment will help the company further its aim of giving frictionless, cost-effective, and hyperlocal finance solutions to smallholder farmers in India so they may create sustainable livelihoods.
Rabo Partnerships is a fully owned subsidiary of the Rabobank Group, which supports financial inclusion and rural development. According to the announcement, the investment in Avanti is consistent with Rabo Partnerships’ “smallholder ecosystem” approach, which focuses on giving smallholder farmers data-driven finance solutions via regional cooperatives and service providers. The CEO of Avanti Finance, Rahul Gupta, stated that “This investment will support ongoing investments in our deep tech platform to develop fit-for-purpose hyperlocal credit products, automated data and social signals driven underwriting for data-dark customers, amplify our partnership network and accelerate co-lending programs with other financial institutions for capital efficiency.”
Avanti has distributed more than Rs 1,300 crore and served 2.75 lakh households. It has 65 staff members and no exclusive branch. According to Gupta, this uses already-existing community-based networks and demonstrates the power of the digital medium. He added, “We are now ready to take the leap towards 1.5 million served households with a targeted AUM of over Rs 2,500 crore in the next 24 months.”
Avanti, a 2016 startup, claims to have co-created more than 180 custom loan products to accommodate various livelihood and income flows. The business has 75 partners across 24 states and 300 districts in India, including social enterprises, financial institutions, business correspondents, agritech players, and farmer-producer organizations. According to Marianne Schoemaker, CEO of Rabo Partnerships, “We believe in Avanti’s vision of financial inclusion, especially for the agricultural sector, where access to appropriate financial services remains a challenge for many.” She continued “Due to the large number of farmers, the digital infrastructure and the ICT talent available, the Indian market is the ideal place to test and scale innovative solutions for food transition and creating a more inclusive society.”
“This strategic partnership supports the IDH Farmfit Fund strategy to invest in innovative and impactful solutions that are enabling the access to finance and connected services to smallholder farmers so they can improve their livelihoods,” said Miguel Tamayo Maertens, Investment Director at IDH Farmfit Fund.
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