U GRO Capital and Kinara Capital have entered into a strategic co-origination partnership to offer collateral-free business loans to small business entrepreneurs in India.

MSME funding

Together, both companies plan to disburse ₹100 crores by the end of FY22 to MSMEs in manufacturing, trading and services sectors, per a joint statement.

“Available financing for MSMEs will range from ₹1 lakh to ₹30 lakh with tenure ranging from 12–60 months.

“Financing can be availed for working capital and asset purchase directly from Kinara Capital, and women-led businesses receive an automatic, upfront discount with the HerVikas program,” according to the statement.

Fintech platforms

U GRO Capital, which aims to expand its branch network to 100 by FY22 (from 34 branches across 9 States now) and intends to reach 250,000 MSMEs in the next 4 financial years, is a listed (NSE, BSE) MSME lending fintech platform.

Kinara Capital, which has 110 branches across 6 States and has provided over 60,000 collateral-free loans to small business entrepreneurs, is a fintech supporting financial inclusion of small business entrepreneurs.

“The co-origination arrangement will leverage U GRO’s analytical data driven decisioning and integration through APIs with the smart technology platform of Kinara Capital,” the statement said.

Also see: SBI inks agreement for co-lending to joint liability groups

Together, the two companies aim to ease access to formal credit for hundreds of small business entrepreneurs who need financing for business growth, it added.

Shachindra Nath, Executive Chairman and Managing Director, U GRO Capital, said, “It is our belief that co-origination with fintech is one of the most effective routes to achieve the financial inclusion of MSMEs, which has prompted us to design our technology platform ‘Gro X-stream’ allowing essential collaborations like this to fructify.”