Fintech firm Sewa Grih Rin raises $20 million funding led by Norway-based NMI

• ByStartupStory     |    July 14, 2022

Sewa Grih Rin Ltd, a housing finance provider, has raised $20 million in funding led by Norway’s Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) as well as Women’s World Bank Asset Management. The funds will increase the company’s loan book, digitize its products, and extend operations in Odisha, Jharkhand, and other states.

The startup now has 36 branches throughout eight states, including Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Haryana. Sewa Grih Rin, founded in 2015 by Shruti Gonsalves, provides loans ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 30 lakh for house building, expansion, purchase, and repair specifically for low-income people, particularly women in urban and rural regions.

According to Gonsalves, the equity funding will enable the business to acquire additional expertise at the supervisory and senior managerial levels. Sewa Grih Rin has $46 million in assets under management (AUM) and around 15,000 clients. “We are now at roughly Rs 300 crore AUM and hope to attain around Rs 700- Rs 800 crores AUM by end of March 2023,” Gonsalves explained.

The startup’s business model combines financing and social impact, catering to informal housing tenure or missing property documentation, and assisting potential clients in making the property title lawfully executable. Since its inception, the firm has raised $34 million.

Follow Startup Story