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Avanti Finance Raises $24 Million, To Provide Credit To Smallholder Farmers

The funds will be used to invest in its deep tech platform and develop credit products for smallholder farmers in India

Avanti Finance Raises $24 Million, To Provide Credit To Smallholder Farmers

Outlook Start-Up Desk

POSTED ON April 03, 2023 11:59 AM

Avanti Finance, an Indian fintech firm providing financial services to low-income households, has raised $24 million in a funding round led by Rabo Partnerships, a subsidiary of Rabobank focused on financial inclusion and rural development and the IDH Farmfit Fund,  an impact fund, is focused on smallholder farmers. The funding round also saw participation from previous investors Oikocredit and Nandan Nilekani’s family office NRJN Trust., the Economic Times reported.

Avanti Finance's deep tech platform aims to provide credit to smallholder farmers through local cooperatives and service providers. The funding will be used to support Avanti Finance's investment in its tech platform, to develop credit products and to underwrite data-driven customer loans. 

“This investment will support ongoing investments in our deep tech platform to develop fit for purpose hyperlocal credit products, automated data and social signals driven underwriting for data-dark customers, amplify our partnership network and accelerate co-lending programmes,” said Rahul Gupta, chief executive officer (CEO) of Avanti Finance in a media statement.

The non banking financial company, which has previously been backed by Tata Sons, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and the NRJN Trust, claims to have served 275,000 households and disbursed more than Rs 13 billion ($175 million) in loans. It currently has 180 loan products for different income streams and has 75 partners covering 24 states and around 300 districts in India.

“Due to the large number of farmers, the digital infrastructure and the ICT talent available, the Indian market is the ideal place to test and scale innovative solutions for food transition and creating a more inclusive society. This investment supports our strategy of promoting data-driven finance solutions through local cooperatives and service providers, which is close to our roots as a cooperative bank," observed Marianne Schoemaker, CEO, Rabo Partnerships, Rabobank.

The IDH Farmfit Fund investment director Miguel Tamayo Maertens added that the investment supports the fund's strategy to invest in innovative and impactful solutions that are enabling access to finance and connected services to smallholder farmers to improve livelihoods.

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