NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kinara Capital, India’s fast-growing MSME fintech, closed a fresh equity round of USD $50 million led by Nuveen, a leading global investment manager with over $1.3 trillion of assets under management, with participation from Triple Jump, a Dutch impact-focused investment manager advising the ASN Microkredietfonds. This new equity investment will lead to Kinara’s expansion of products and services to meet the rapidly increasing MSME credit demand in India. Kinara Capital aims to grow by 500% by 2025 with plans to disburse USD $1 billion of MSME business loans in the next three years.
This round of equity financing for Kinara Capital comes from Nuveen's Global Impact Fund which focuses on transformative companies’ impact value chains for low-income consumers and from the ASN Microkredietfonds, a listed and regulated Dutch microfinance fund advised by Triple Jump. With this equity round, Kinara Capital gains two new members on its Board of Directors with Nuveen's Managing Director & Co-Head of Private Equity Impact, Rekha Unnithan, and Nuveen’s Director of Private Equity Impact, Stephen Lee. As shareholders, Nuveen and Triple Jump will support Kinara’s continued growth and the continued development of their best in class ESG and impact management system.
Kinara offers both a fully digital process with its myKinara app and doorstep customer service with 110+ branches serving small business entrepreneurs across 90+ cities in India. With the advanced use of AI/ML, the company’s vernacular-friendly myKinara app can take MSME applicants from loan decision-to-disbursement within 24-hours. More than 300 sub-sectors across Manufacturing, Trading, and Services MSME sectors can avail Kinara’s collateral-free business loans in the range of USD $1,000-$30,000.
Hardika Shah, Founder & CEO, Kinara Capital, said:
“We at Kinara Capital are immensely thrilled with the dual investment from Nuveen and Triple Jump who are uniting to support small business entrepreneurs in India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy. This is a true attestation of our sustainable business model and the vast MSME market opportunity ahead of us. This fresh equity round will energize us to scale faster so that we can continue doing what we do best, which is to bring more small business entrepreneurs into the fold of financial inclusion.”
Rekha Unnithan, Managing Director & Co-Head of Private Impact Investing, Nuveen, said:
“Nuveen seeks out innovative companies who are transforming economies and solving real-world problems. Kinara Capital and its leadership are par excellence in how they have disrupted small business lending in India. Taking a digital-first approach without compromising on human customer service, Kinara has outclassed others with its ability to address the pain points of MSMEs in India. With a decade worth of proprietary data, Kinara has perfected its qualification processes and turnaround time. We at Nuveen are proud to invest fully in Kinara Capital, and together, we will turn to the next chapter of growth.”
Orsolya Farkas, Equity Manager, Triple Jump, said:
“Triple Jump is proud to invest in Kinara Capital which is leading with a sustainable business model and creating a systemic shift in how small business entrepreneurs should be considered and served, especially women entrepreneurs. Impact is core to Kinara’s business and the company has never wavered from its mission of financial inclusion. We are impressed by Kinara’s genuine commitment towards gender parity both within its organization by leading with a women-majority management team and with its HerVikas program for women entrepreneurs.”
Kinara’s products include collateral-free business loan offerings of Asset Purchase Loan for new or used machines, Long-Term Working Capital Loan, and Bill Discounting Loan which support ongoing needs such as shop renovations, purchase of stock or raw materials, machine repair, hiring of seasonal help, or related business growth requirements of a small business. Existing Kinara customers can further gain an advantage with lower-cost loans of shorter tenure by opting for a Short-Term Working Capital Loan or Loan Against Property. All women entrepreneurs qualify for an automatic discount with Kinara’s HerVikas program. In addition, Kinara offers free monthly informational workshops in multiple languages with its Grow With Kinara series.
To date, Kinara Capital has disbursed USD $400 million across 75,000+ collateral-free business loans enabling vast financial inclusion of the underserved small business entrepreneurs in India.
About Nuveen
Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $1.3 trillion in assets under management as of 31 Dec 2021 and operations in 27 countries. Its investment specialists offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. For more information, please visit www.nuveen.com.
About Triple Jump and the ASN Microkredietfonds
Triple Jump is a Dutch impact-focused investment manager that provides meaningful and responsible investment opportunities in emerging markets. The funds managed and advised by Triple Jump provide financing for companies focusing on financial inclusion, affordable housing, missing middle finance (SMEs), and climate and nature. The ASN Microkredietfonds is a listed and regulated microfinance investment fund investing in financial inclusion in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. For more information, please visit www.triplejump.eu.
About Kinara Capital
Kinara Capital is a fast-growing fintech propelling financial inclusion of small business entrepreneurs in India. Leading with a women-majority management team, the company is globally recognized for disrupting MSME financing. Qualified as a Systemically Important NBFC by the Reserve Bank of India, Kinara Capital is a debt-listed entity on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Headquartered in Bangalore, Kinara Capital has 110 branches across 90+ cities in India. Visit www.kinaracapital.com for more information and follow us on Twitter @KinaraCapital.
This press release may contain projections and other forward-looking statements regarding future events or future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and reflect our current beliefs and expectations with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risk and uncertainties and subject to change at any time. Given business risks and uncertainties, undue reliance on these forward-looking statements should not be placed. Actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the projections or forward-looking statements.
