Aye Finance, a Gurugram-headquartered new-age finance company providing business loans to small and micro enterprises across India, announced that it has raised about $17 million in debt funding, according to a VCCircle report. Recently, the company raised Rs 210 crore in Series E funding round.
Aye Finance said that it had raised the capital from Invest in Visions, a Germany-based social impact investor that focuses on segments including sustainable agriculture, social enterprises, and social impact lending.
“Access to adequate capital has never been more significant than in these current times of economic disruptions and we are committed to supporting these grassroots businesses through these trying times as well with our loan offerings,” Aye Finance managing director Sanjay Sharma said.
Micro, small and medium enterprises-focused Aye Finance provides working capital and business development loans. It uses statistical models and predictive analytics to determine risk profiles, even in the absence of formal credit histories or documentation.
The fresh capital takes the total debt raised by the company – set up in 2014 — to over Rs 2,000 crore. It has also raised more than Rs 690 crore in equity funding, including the Series E round that was led by CapitalG, the Google-operated investment firm formerly known as Google Capital.
Other participants that took part in the equity round include LGT Lightstone, Falcon Edge, A91 Partners and MAJ Invest.
“Since 2014 we have continued to chart an exciting growth path in this under-banked segment while maintaining a high benchmark for credit quality. Aye Finance is dedicated to working with the most relevant technology to facilitate better financial inclusion and to consequently serve micro-enterprises across the country in a more holistic manner,” according to the Company’s Linkedin page.
Invest in Visions GmbH was founded by Edda Schröder in 2006 with the vision of offering institutional and retail investors access to impact investments – that is, investments that offer investors both financial and social returns. In addition to microfinance, the company specializes in investments in renewable energy projects (decentralized projects), sustainable agriculture and forestry, social enterprises and social impact lending (social bonds, for example, in the areas of healthcare, education, social housing).
HrNxt.com Newsdesk has researchers and writers with an excellent domain knowledge about the talent ecosystem, and the business environment. The team keeps a tab on the latest happenings in the ecosystem to bring most relevant news and insights for our readers. You can connect with our newsdesk at newsdesk@hrnxt.com.