RBI-registered Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) Namdev has secured 15 million in its Series-B funding round. The investment round witnessed participation from British International Investment (BII), LC Nueva AIF (LC), promoters, employees, and the continued support of existing investor Incofin India Progress Fund. 

Established in 2013, the NBFC has steadily expanded its footprint across seven North-West Indian states, focusing on providing financial solutions to the underserved segment with low formal incomes and limited credit history.   

Jitendra Tanwar, managing director and CEO of Namdev expressed his gratitude and excitement about the latest funding milestone, stating, "Our unique operating model emphasizes on assisting customers formalise their collateral and helps in their social upliftment. With this infusion, we will redouble our efforts to touch 100,000+ lives by FY25. This significant investment reflects the confidence our investors have in Namdev's mission of fostering financial inclusion. "  

"Supporting financial inclusion and sustainability has been a major pillar of British International Investment’s (BII) India strategy. Through this commitment, we cannot only help improve access to credit for more underserved MSMEs in Tier II and Tier III cities but also promote sustainable economic growth through Namdev’s new green loan product for EV and solar products,” said Srini Nagarajan, managing director and head of Asia at BII.   

Sohil Chand, CIO of LC Nueva AIF said - Namdev is playing a significant role in bridging the Rs 25 trillion credit gap in the MSME sector. LC Nueva believes there is great potential in lending to underserved micro-enterprises and is impressed by Namdev’s profitable growth, asset quality, and execution over the last 2 years. We look forward to partnering with Mr. Jitendra and his team as they continue to scale this opportunity  

“Namdev is embarking on an exciting growth trajectory, and we are thrilled to collaborate with BII and LC Nueva AIF (LC), a partner with profound insights into India's financial services sector. This equity infusion underscores the unwavering confidence that investors place in Namdev, recognising it as a top-tier franchise in the financial landscape", said Aditya Bhandari, partner, and regional director, of Asia Equity, Incofin Investment Management. 

The company claims to have disbursed over 50,000 loans ranging from Rs 400,000 to 700,000 primarily for income generation, accumulating an impressive AUM exceeding Rs 1,000 crore ($125 Million). 

The government has envisaged MSMEs to contribute $2 trillion to the target of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2024. In August 2021, MSME Ministry announced a target to boost MSME contribution to the GDP to 50 per cent by 2025.  

India has approximately over 6.3 crore MSMEs and the number of registered MSMEs stood at 80.16 lakh units as on March 31, 2022, indicating that 88 per cent of enterprises still exist in the informal sector.  

Micro sector accounts for more than 99 per cebt of the total estimated number of MSMEs and around 97 per cent of total employment in the sector, while Small and Medium sectors accounted for 0.52 per cent and 0.01 per cent of total estimated MSMEs, respectively (National Sample Survey (NSS) 73rd round conducted during 2015-16).