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Janalakshmi raises $14.4 Million in Series C Funding
By siliconindia
650 million ($14.4 million) in series C funding, led by Citi Venture Capital International (CVCI). Other existing investors also participated in the funding. CVCI took a significant minority stake of the company. Janalakshmi is plans to raise additional fund as a part of this round. Unitus Capital played the lead arranger and adviser of the deal along with Morgan Stanley.
Founded by former Citigroup banker Ramesh Ramanathan, Janalakshmi is a non-profit non-banking financial company and an urban microfinance institution, with the promoter stake held in the not-for-profit entity Janalakshmi Social Services. It currently operates in nine states of the country. They currently focus on extending microfinance loans in the urban areas and have 2.5 billion in disbursals as of March 2011, up from 800 million in March 2010. The fund will be used towards disbursals and business building.
R.Srinivasa, CEO and Managing Director, said, "We are on a verge of raising more capital in the near future for the expansion and development of our firm."
In its second round of funding from Tree Line Asia Master Fund (Singapore), Bellwether Microfinance Fund and Narayan Ramachandran in last March, the company had raised $10 million. They raised their first round of funding from Lok Capital, Bellwether Microfinance Fund and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.
Ramanathan said that it is the validation of the business model, which they have pursued relentlessly for several years, and it has helped us weather the unprecedented crisis in our sector with minimal impact. The core pillars of their business model are a constant focus on customers and their needs, the pervasive use of cutting-edge technology and a deep and disciplined management team.
