Fusion Microfinance Raises ₹ 500 Cr led by Warburg Pincus, Creation Investments

Fusion Microfinance, a leading microfinance institution (NBFC-MFI) in India, today announced that its existing investors, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus LLC (“Warburg Pincus”), a global private equit

y firm focused on growth investing, and Creation Investments led an additional investment round and invested Rs 500 crores in the Company.

This round of investment comes at a time when the company is looking to grow its distribution network across India, integrate technology solutions across key business functions to serve customers better, and further solidify the platform to address untapped growth opportunities within the microfinance sector. 

Fusion Microfinance has achieved YOY growth of 45% in FY19 in AUM with an outstanding portfolio of around INR 3350 crores as on December 2019. Fusion continues to have a well-diversified geographic portfolio with emphasis on rural customers. About 92% of Fusion’s portfolio serves rural customers and the company has a pan-India presence through 575 branches across 18 states. Fusion Microfinance was established in 2010 and is the youngest company amongst top 10 pure play microfinance companies in India. 

[caption id="attachment_140637" align="alignleft" width="350"] Devesh Sachdev, Founder & CEO, Fusion Microfinance[/caption]

According to Devesh Sachdev, CEO and Founder, Fusion Microfinance “We are honoured by the trust that our investors have laid on us. The follow-up investment by Warburg Pincus and Creation Investment reflects their faith in Fusion’s ability to harness Rural India’s incredible growth story. Fusion has been amongst the faster growing companies in the sector over the last few years and is committed to maintain a steady and sustainable pace at a much larger scale in the next 3-5 years. Building forth on a strong operating platform and strategic initiatives, we are well placed to become a valued company in the financial inclusion space."

According to Narendra Ostawal, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus “Fusion Microfinance has steadily emerged as one of India’s leading microfinance companies with a well-diversified portfolio. The follow-on investment by existing investors will help expand the capital base to support Fusion’s growth plans. We continue to be impressed with the management team and look forward to supporting them in their endeavours.”

About Fusion Microfinance:

Fusion is a micro finance institution registered as an NBFC-MFI (Non-deposit taking) with Reserve Bank of India. It was founded by Devesh Sachdev and started its operations in January 2010. Fusion serves around two million clients through its strong team of more than 5500 people in over 575 branches spread across 18 states of India as on December, 2019. 

Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing. The firm has more than $62 billion in private equity assets under management. The firm’s active portfolio of more than 190 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 19 private equity funds, which have invested more than $79 billion in over 880 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. 

About Creation Investments

Creation Investments Capital Management, LLC is a leading alternative investment management company with a focus on private equity investments in Microfinance Institutions, Small-and-Medium Enterprise lenders, Emerging Market Banks, and other BOP Financial Services Providers. Together with their portfolio companies, Creation Investments provides access to capital and needed products and services for those living in poverty to engage in small-business activity and income generation, significantly impacting those living at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Currently, Creation Investments’ portfolio companies directly serve over 22 million entrepreneurs and individuals with over $16.5 billion in loans outstanding, and millions more with micro-savings, micro-insurance and mobile payment tools.

Warburg Pincus Leads $74 Mn Funding of Delhi-based Fusion Microfinance

Delhi headquartered Fusion Microfinance, a leading Non-Banking Financial Company – Microfinance Institution (NBFC-MFI) in India, announced today that it has closed its Series E investment round of INR 520 crores (~ US$73.76 million approx) led by an affiliate of Warburg Pincus LLC (“Warburg Pincus”), a leading global private equity (PE) firm focused on growth investing. The investment round includes both a primary fund raise and secondary sale by early-stage investors. This also marks Warburg Pincus’s first investment in the microfinance sector in India. Creation Investment, an existing investor, has also participated in this round. Early investors - Incofin, NMI ,BIO and SIDBI have made successful exit.

This fundraise follows an internal round that the Company completed in February 2018 and significantly expands Fusion’s capital base to support its high organic growth. The Company also intends to selectively evaluate potential acquisition opportunities and lead the potential consolidation in the Industry. Spark Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to the transaction.

According to Devesh Sachdev, CEO and Founder of Fusion Microfinance, “Since inception, Fusion has done significant work in financial inclusion, women empowerment and entrepreneurship. We are very excited about our partnership with Warburg Pincus. This investment would support our endeavour to develop into one of India’s most preferred companies in the financial inclusion space. We are thankful to Incofin, NMI , BIO and SIDBI for having faith in us early on and being supportive of our journey thus far."


Narendra Ostawal, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus said, “Fusion has had a remarkable journey to become a leading microfinance company in a relatively short period of time. It has demonstrated the ability to profitably scale up in a diversified manner. The company is led by a very talented team, has a robust operating platform and is very well capitalised to become a leader in the financial inclusion space. Warburg Pincus looks forward to backing Devesh and the management team in its next phase of growth."

Fusion Microfinance was established in 2010 and is the youngest company amongst top 10 pure play microfinance companies in India. It has cumulatively disbursed over INR 5000 crores having started in early 2010. Fusion is a rural MFI with a pan-India presence through 500 branches across about 200 under-developed districts in 18 states of India. It has an outstanding portfolio of INR 2,050 crores, as at September 30, 2018, serving more than 1.3 Mn customers and well diversified across 18 states of India.

Fusion Microfinance, headquartered in Delhi, is a microfinance company registered with RBI as an NBFC-MFI. Fusion has won many accolades for being client centric organization. Some of the prominent awards include, ‘PMI Project of the Year Award 2018’ from Project Management Institute of India, ‘Best NBFC MFI Award 2018’ in the category of Customer Literacy and Capacity Building from MFIN, ‘Champions of Rural Markets 2018’ from ET, ‘The Business World Digital India Award 2017’ from Hon’ble Union Minister of India, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad and ‘Best MFI of the Year Award 2014’ instituted by ACCESS.