SarvaGram Fin to raise $40 mn from TVS Capital, Temasek, others
Maharashtra-based lender SarvaGram Fincare Pvt. Ltd, which caters to credit requirements of rural households, is raising around $40 million from new investors Temasek and TVS Capital, besides existing investors, said a person aware of the development.
SarvaGram started operations in 2019 as a household financier offering credit products to households in rural and semi-urban India. It has five products in its portfolio, including business, farm, personal, home and gold loans. “SarvaGram closed its latest fundraise with $40 million from Temasek, TVS Capital as well as others. The deal values Sarvagram at $100 million. EY was one of the advisors to Sarvagram for the fundraising," said the person cited above, requesting anonymity.
The lender’s last fundraising was in February 2021. It raised $10.5 million in a series B round led by Elevation Capital. The fresh capital raised will be used to grow the lender’s loan book, and expand its presence, the person added. Email queries to SarvaGram and TVS Capital did not elicit any response. Temasek declined to comment.
Sarvagram’s assets under management stood at 171 crore as on 31 March 2022 as compared to 39 crore at the end of the previous fiscal year, of which, 80% came from secured lending products, according to a credit rating report by Crisil in June 2022.
“The company currently has five credit products under its portfolio, i.e. business loans (28%), farm loans (32%), personal loans (25%), home loans (6%) and gold loans (8%). The company offers these credit products to semi-urban/rural households. It follows brick and mortar business model for the purpose of its lead generation and currently has 50 branches as on 31 March 2022, as compared to nine on 31 March 2021, primarily in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The company has also started its operations in Rajasthan and Karnataka, and plans to further expand its operations in the states," Crisil said in the report. SarvaGram Fincare reported a loss of â¹20.3 crore in fiscal 2022, against a loss of 4.9 crore for fiscal 2021. “The founders of Sarvagram, Utpal Isser and Sameer Mishra, have significant relevant experience complementing the business model of the group. Both of them have been involved in managing rural businesses across financial sector entities, including banks.
The management team, too, has strong experience in the rural finance business. Given their significant experience, the management is focused on putting in place sound systems and risk management processes at an early stage itself. The group has invested significantly in analytics capability, underwriting capabilities, and risk analytics," Crisil added.
