Grameen Koota raises Rs 53.20 cr equity fund

Grameen Financial Services Pvt Ltd, popularly known as Grameen Koota, has raised Rs 53.20 crore of equity funding in a third round.

The Bangalore-based microfinance institute has raised the money from investment management company Creation Investments, specialised fund management company Incofin and social venture capital fund MicroVentures.

Grameen Koota Managing Director Suresh Krishna, in a statement, said the fresh fund infusion would help Grameen Koota achieve its target of reaching out to over 10 lakh poor and low income households. It would also strengthen in extending and expanding the loan operations to other neighbouring States.

Grameen Koota has been working with poor and low-income households for the past 13 years and has provided these households with diverse financial and developmental services across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

The equity funding comes close on the heels of the institution receiving Rs 21 crore in debt funding through unsecured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) from Global Commercial Microfinance Consortium II B.V., Netherlands, a fund managed by Deutsche Bank.

The microfinance industry has been in several controversies in the past couple of years. That has, however, not deterred private equity players and venture capital funds from investing in the sector.

Last year, Creation Investments invested Rs 29 crore in Allahabad-based Sonata Finance. IFC, the World Bank’s private equity arm, has proposed to invest Rs 100 crore in Chennai-based Equitas Holdings. It has invested Rs 45 crore in Bangalore’s Ujjivan Financial Services.

priyanka.pani@thehindu.co.in

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