Annapurna Microfinance has announced the successful completion of its most recent equity fundraising round. The round was led by Bamboo Capital Partners (“BCP”) – the established global emerging markets private equity firm specializing in commercial growth investments into finance, healthcare and energy at the base of the economic pyramid. Bamboo Capital Partners injected fresh equity capital of Rs 32.4 crore into Annapurna. The funding round also saw existing investors – BIO and Oikocredit –inject additional capital of Rs 28.6 crore into the Company (BIO- Rs 14.3 crore and Oikocredit- Rs 14.3 crore ). The company will use the additional capital on further growth and expansion.

Annapurna has experienced significant growth in its loan portfolio and operations over the last 3 years whilst maintaining excellent portfolio quality. In October 2016 Incofin, Annapurna’s long-time investor, exited the majority of its stake with a strong return, through a secondary share sale to Women’s World Banking Capital Partners (“WWB CP”) for Rs 50.5 crore. In previous capital rounds, Annapurna has received equity supports from SIDBI IMEF, SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd (SVCL), BIO, Incofin Investment Management, DCB Bank and Oikocredit as well.

Speaking on this development, Mr. Gobinda Chandra Pattanaik, MD & CEO of Annapurna said, “We are excited to work with our new investment partner in the form of Bamboo Capital Partners and equally thrilled to have the additional equity from BIO and Oikocredit, both of them have been our long-standing partners. The contribution of WWB CP to the financial inclusion sector and to highlight women as incubators of rural entrepreneurship development for the last 35 years is immense. By leveraging the financial experience and access to capital of our investors, the Annapurna Management Team will be able to take advantage of new opportunities in the microfinance sector and strategically move forward in serving more clients with no or limited access to finance from the mainstream sector.”

Mr. Imraan Mohammed, Fund Manager & Head of Asia, of Bamboo Capital Partners commented, “Aside from the significant growth and stellar financial performance that Annapurna has demonstrated over the last few years, what really stood out for us was the tight operational culture the Management team has built and embedded into the firm and a holistic strategy which embraces both diversification as well as a deepening within its core areas and customer segments to serve the base of the economic pyramid, particularly in the less penetrated provinces of eastern India where financial inclusion levels are still very low. We are excited about the investment and look forward to having a long-term partnership with Annapurna that benefits all stakeholders.”

Annapurna Microfinance Pvt. Ltd. which is one of the fast growing NBFC-MFI in the country, currently operates in 10 different states with over 0.9 million borrowers and a Gross Loan Portfolio/ Total Assets of about INR 12,360 Million as on March 2017. While Annapurna’s core areas of operation have tended to be in the eastern states i.e. Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the Company has been expanding its footprint into neighboring states successfully and is now also exploring further expansion into the states of Punjab & Haryana, where operations are expected to commence in the near future. This well-timed capital support from Bamboo Capital Partners and existing investors will enable the company to not only strengthen its position in its existing core areas but to also expand and diversify its operations into previously untapped regions.
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