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.

Logistics Tech Firm Rivigo Raises $65 Mn from Existing Investors

Gurgaon-headquartered Rivigo, a technology-enabled logistics startup, has raised a funding of $65 million (~ Rs 445 Crore) in the ongoing series E round led by existing investors Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners.

The company plans to utilise the money to further strengthen its technology and network coverage. Rivigo has a network coverage with more than 29000 pin codes in India.

After raising a $50 million equity financing in January last year, this is the second successive round of funding that has been led by the same two investors.

In the $150-160 billion Indian road freight market, Rivigo's technological prowess and relay trucking model has ensured the company creates significant value for the sector, says Deepak Garg, Founder and CEO, Rivigo.

The latest fund infusion is part of an ongoing Series E round, Rivigo said in its statement. It will use the proceeds to to further strengthen its technology and network coverage. The January 2018 capital raise was believed to have valued the five-year-old company at about $900-$950 million. It, however, did not disclose its valuation, post the closure of this latest round of funding.

Few days back, Mumbai-headquartered Freight Tiger, a B2B logistics technology startup, had raised $8 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm

Source - Economic Times

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.

Warburg Pincus Backed Ecom Express Appoints Mayank Gupta as Senior VP and CFO

Ecom Express Private Limited, a leading end-to-end logistics solutions provider for the e-commerce industry, has appointed Mayank Gupta as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mayank brings with him over 19 years of expertise and experience in the areas of strategy, business, finance, operational turn around, deal structuring, taxation, M&A, pricing, controllership, financials reporting, P&L management, treasury operations and budgetary planning and management.

In this new position Mayank will oversee Finance, Accounts, Legal, Secretarial, Commercial and Administration functions and will be operating from the Company’s Head Quarters at New Delhi. He will also serve on the Company’s executive team and report to Ecom Express’ Founders/Board.

Congratulating on his new role, T. A. Krishnan, Chief Executive Officer, Ecom Express Private Limited said, “Mayank is an accomplished executive with significant strategic, financial and operational expertise. His deep knowledge in all areas across the areas of business strategy and finance will be very valuable for Ecom Express. He will be an exceptional addition to our team as we continue to navigate rapid growth and transformation from start-up to industry trailblazer.”

Commenting on his appointment Mayank Gupta said, “Ecom Express represents the leading edge of Indian e-commerce logistics business and it is a tremendous opportunity to join the Organization at such an exciting time. I am eager to work with the leadership team to help scale the innovative and fast growing business for long-term operational and financial excellence.”

Mayank, a seasoned financial executive with more than 19 years’ experience, began his career at Maruti Suzuki India Limited and has since served in numerous CFO positions. Most recently, Mayank served at General Electric group for over 14 years in different senior management roles at various group SBUs. As a CFO of GE Transportation & Aviation, South Asia, he successfully led GE initiatives in bagging the largest first “Make in India” project for GE from Indian Railways. During GE tenure he was identified as GE top talent and won many awards/accolades for his contributions to the group.

With this new appointment, Ecom Express has further strengthened its senior leadership team which has seen expansion with many recent appointments.

In September 2017, the company raised Rs 192 crore from existing investor Warburg Pincus. Earlier in 2015, Warburg Pincus had invested Rs 850 crore in Ecom Express.

Warburg Pincus Backed Ecom Express Appoints Mayank Gupta as Senior VP and CFO

Ecom Express Private Limited, a leading end-to-end logistics solutions provider for the e-commerce industry, has appointed Mayank Gupta as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mayank brings with him over 19 years of expertise and experience in the areas of strategy, business, finance, operational turn around, deal structuring, taxation, M&A, pricing, controllership, financials reporting, P&L management, treasury operations and budgetary planning and management.

In this new position Mayank will oversee Finance, Accounts, Legal, Secretarial, Commercial and Administration functions and will be operating from the Company’s Head Quarters at New Delhi. He will also serve on the Company’s executive team and report to Ecom Express’ Founders/Board.

Congratulating on his new role, T. A. Krishnan, Chief Executive Officer, Ecom Express Private Limited said, “Mayank is an accomplished executive with significant strategic, financial and operational expertise. His deep knowledge in all areas across the areas of business strategy and finance will be very valuable for Ecom Express. He will be an exceptional addition to our team as we continue to navigate rapid growth and transformation from start-up to industry trailblazer.”

Commenting on his appointment Mayank Gupta said, “Ecom Express represents the leading edge of Indian e-commerce logistics business and it is a tremendous opportunity to join the Organization at such an exciting time. I am eager to work with the leadership team to help scale the innovative and fast growing business for long-term operational and financial excellence.”

Mayank, a seasoned financial executive with more than 19 years’ experience, began his career at Maruti Suzuki India Limited and has since served in numerous CFO positions. Most recently, Mayank served at General Electric group for over 14 years in different senior management roles at various group SBUs. As a CFO of GE Transportation & Aviation, South Asia, he successfully led GE initiatives in bagging the largest first “Make in India” project for GE from Indian Railways. During GE tenure he was identified as GE top talent and won many awards/accolades for his contributions to the group.

With this new appointment, Ecom Express has further strengthened its senior leadership team which has seen expansion with many recent appointments.

In September 2017, the company raised Rs 192 crore from existing investor Warburg Pincus. Earlier in 2015, Warburg Pincus had invested Rs 850 crore in Ecom Express.

CleanMax Solar Raises $100M from Warburg Pincus

CleanMax Solar, India’s largest rooftop solar developer for the corporate sector, today announced that it has secured equity financing of up to $100 million from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing. CleanMax Solar enjoys 24% market share in India’s booming rooftop solar market (Source: Bridge to India 2017 report) and has numerous marquee clients including the Tata group, the Mahindra group, the TVS group, Carlsberg India, Konecranes India, Carl Zeiss India, Manipal Education and Medical Group, SKF India Limited, Mindtree Limited and Alkem Laboratories Limited. CleanMax will use the funds to continue its rapid growth in the rooftop and open access solar power markets in India, while pursuing growth in select international markets (Middle East and South-East Asia), and growing the nascent, yet promising energy storage solutions business.

Kuldeep Jain, Founder and Managing Director of CleanMax Solar commented, “CleanMax was founded with the mission of being the sustainability partner for corporates. Companies are leading the world in terms of sustainability aspirations, and today solar power can provide savings upwards of thirty percent on a customer’s electricity bills with no investment from the customer. Warburg Pincus was a partner of choice for us as they have fabulous track record of partnering entrepreneurs in India over past twenty years.”

“With this investment, we combine our market leadership in the corporate solar sector with the status of being also the best capitalized company in the space. Our India business has grown from 8 MW in 2014-15 to over 100 MW in 2016-17, and is likely to achieve aggregate capacity of up to 250 MW in 2017-18. Warburg Pincus’ investment will enable us to pursue additional growth opportunities beyond India, and provide next generation solutions to our customers through a combination of rooftop solar and energy storage,” Kuldeep added.

Saurabh Agarwal, a Warburg Pincus Managing Director commented, “CleanMax Solar is a leader in the Indian solar rooftop market, providing customers with cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions to meet their energy requirements. We believe that CleanMax, is well poised to benefit from the strong growth tailwinds in the sector, and look forward to working with the management team to build a world class enterprise.”

T.V. Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Global Education Services Pvt. Ltd. said, “The CleanMax Solar team stands out for their growth and performance. For the last 3 years, we have been working with CleanMax as a rooftop solar and sustainability partner for Manipal Education and Medical Group across our Universities and campuses, bringing in-depth knowledge about solar power and innovative solutions to the table. Their execution has been exemplary, quality of service and response is outstanding and pricing very competitive. My best wishes are with the entire CleanMax Solar team for their journey ahead”.

Anish Jhaveri, Founder of Oliphans capital, which was an early investor in CleanMax Solar stated, "I've been very impressed by CleanMax Solar’s mission of being a sustainability partner for corporates. They have an impressive team and client roster. I'm confident this raised funds will help them maintain their market leadership position. The reason for our investment was clarity and conviction on scale of opportunity that solar industry presented. It’s all about execution once you have a good set of entrepreneurs – that’s what produces winners in the space”.

Warburg Pincus Sells 25% in Capital First, GIC Singapore Ups Stake to 14%

Capital First would has announced that Cloverdell Investment Ltd, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus has sold 25% stake in the company to marquee Foreign and domestic investors. Cloverdell Investment Ltd continues to be the Promoter of the company with 36% stake in Capital First Limited.

As part of this transaction, GIC, a Sovereign Wealth Fund established by the Government of Singapore, has acquired incremental 8.93% stake in Capital First Limited taking GIC’s total shareholding in Capital First Limited to 13.91%. GIC is a leading global investment firm with well over US$100 billion in assets under management in more than 40 countries across the world.

Vishal Mahadevia, Co-Head and Managing Director, Warburg Pincus India Private Limited said, “It has been approximately five years since Vaidyanathan invited Warburg Pincus to invest behind him and the management team at Capital First. Since then, Vaidya and the team have transformed and grown the company into one of India’s leading financial institutions specializing in providing financing to MSMEs and retail consumers in India. It has been a terrific journey, during which Capital First has created immense value for its partners and stakeholders. Affiliates of Warburg Pincus continue to remain significant shareholders in Capital First and we welcome a group of new institutional investors to join us in supporting Vaidya and the management team as the company sets out on its next phase of growth.”

V Vaidyanathan, Executive Chairman, Capital First said, “We are delighted that GIC a USD 100 billion Sovereign Wealth Fund of Government of Singapore as well as marquee FIIs and DIIs have acquired a significant stake in Capital First. We thank them for their faith in us. I would like to thank Warburg Pincus for backing us five years ago, and their continued support into the future. We are confident about the next wave of growth in business and profitability and creating value for our new shareholders.”

Capital First Limited is a Non-Banking Finance Company specializing in MSME and Consumer financing supported by proprietary credit evaluation methodologies and strong credit scoring platform. The Company also offers loans to salaried consumers and small enterprises primarily for Home Loans, Two Wheeler Loans, Durable Loans, working capital, short term business needs and for consumption. The Company has the highest long term credit rating of AAA. The Company has a Board comprising of reputed professionals with many decades of rich experience in the corporate sector.

Warburg Pincus Invests $75M in Rivigo, a Technology Driven Logistics Company

Rivigo, a technology driven logistics company, today announced that an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing, has invested $75 million in the company for a minority stake. This is the fourth and largest round of capital raised by the Company, with previous capital coming from a number of investors including SAIF Partners and Singapore Post.

Rivigo, headquartered in Gurgaon, was founded in 2014 by former Mckinsey& Co. consultants Deepak Garg, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and IIM Lucknowand Gazal Kalra, an alumnus of Stanford and Harvard. The Company pioneered the unique “relay” operating model which reduces the transit time of trucks in India by 50-70 per cent compared to typical truck operators, while significantly enhancing the safety and lifestyle of truck drivers. Rivigo leverages data, technology and IOT extensively to solve real challenges in logistics. In a short span of two years, Rivigo has grown rapidly,and offers a wide range of solutions including full-truck load, part truck-load and cold chain to clients across major industry verticals such as e-commerce, FMCG, automotive, retail and pharmaceuticals.The company currently owns and operates over 2000 trucks and has a pan India network across 150 locations.

Deepak Garg, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rivigo said, “We are delighted to welcome Warburg Pincus as our partner, and look forward to leveraging their global expertise and network in logistics. The infusion of capital will help us scale up our various service offerings across India, and importantly, accelerate our investment in technology and talent. This funding will support our aspiration of becoming the largest logistics company in India by 2020.”

Commenting on the transaction, Viraj Sawhney, Managing Director of Warburg Pincus said, “We are excited by Rivigo’s growth prospects and its potential to disrupt the Indian trucking industry, which is by far the largest segment of logistics in India. The company is delivering a fundamentally superior proposition for customers and truck drivers by deploying a unique operating model, enabled by the smart use of technology and analytics. The prospects are likely to be further enhanced upon implementation of GST. We are excited to partner with a young and energetic management team that has executed impressively to date, and possesses a strong culture of innovation, and look forward to utilising our strong global logistics experience to support the management in their growth plans.”

Deepak Gaur, Managing Director of SAIF Partners and board member of Rivigo said, “Rivigo has grown exponentially over the last 2 years to disrupt a massive logistics market in India. We are pleased to have Warburg Pincus on board to help further accelerate our journey and deepen our market presence.”

Image : Deepak Garg, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rivigo

CarTrade Raises Rs 185 Crore From Warburg Pincus & Existing Investors

Mumbai based CardTrade.com, one of India's leading online auto classified portal has raised Rs.185 crore from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm with participation from existing investors
Canaan Partners and Tiger Global existing investors, Canaan Partners and Tiger Global.

A statement from CarTrade said the fresh capital will be used to diversify and strengthen the company's offerings to consumers and dealers.

"We are extremely happy to have Warburg Pincus on board as a partner," CarTrade Founder and CEO Vinay Sanghi said in the statement, adding, "the funds raised shall be employed to further expand our services to help us offer our consumers and dealers a seamless online experience. We also plan to focus significantly on the mobile space and provide products and services, which will be best in class and in many cases the first of its kind."

Warburg Pincus India Managing Director Nitin Nayar said his company sees "tremendous potential in the domestic automobile market. CarTrade is one of the most innovative platforms in the online auto sector, and has shown strong growth momentum in the last couple of years."

Warburg Pincus is focused on growth investing and has over $ 39 billion in assets under management spanning over 125 companies.

CarTrade.com is one of India's leading online automotive market for buyers and sellers of new and used vehicles. It offers a selection of over 1,00,000 listings, price information and certification for used cars. For new buyers, it offers reviews, on-road prices, car comparisons and latest auto news. Car auctions done at CarTrade.com portal take place across more than 80 cities with over 1200 dealers participating in these auctions.