Sindhuja Microcredit raises $4 m from Carpediem Capital

Sindhuja Microcredit, a Non Banking Financial Company (NBFC) with operations across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, has raised $4 million in Series A funding from Carpediem Capital. The firm, which started loan disbursals in April 2018, intends to use the proceeds for its expansion plans.

“We have already closed this round. We intend to use this funding for expansion of our loan book, foraying into newer geographies and for technological upgradation as we intend to go completely digital,” Sindhuja Microcredit Managing Director Abhisheka Kumar told BusinessLine.

Expansion plans

The company’s total AUM as of March 31, 2019 stood at ₹61.5 crore, expected to go up to ₹250 crore by the end of this financial year and further up to about ₹3,000 crore in the next five years. The company is also looking to foray either into Punjab and Rajasthan or West Bengal and Assam this year, for which also a part of the funding will be used.

Vidura Capital was the financial advisor to Sindhuja on the fund raising, while Vertices Partners and Antares Legal were the legal advisers.

Sindhuja Microcredit, a new generation microfinance company, provides financial services to households in rural regions across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. “Ät present, 70 per cent of our book will be in these three States and the remaining will be from the newer States where we intend to foray into,” Kumar added.

This is the first round of funding for the firm, which was started by former bankers Abhisheka Kumar and Malkit Singh Didyala in 2018.

Currently, it operates 23 branches, of which 90 per cent are in rural areas, with over 28,977 active customers.