Finova Capital Raises $135 Mn Series E Round Led By Avataar Venture Partners & Others

Jaipur-based Finova Capital, a non-banking finance company, raised USD 135 million series E round from Avataar Venture Partners, Sofina and Madison India Capital, including existing investor Norwest Venture Partners. The transaction also provides a partial exit to early investors. This also marks Avataar’s first investment in the financial services sector in India.

Finova will use the funds to grow its loan book, invest in technology, expand geographically and further its vision of enabling financial inclusion at scale.

Mohit Sahney, Founder, Managing Director, Finova Capital, said, “We are thrilled to have tech-focused global investors show their faith in what we are building at Finova. We are very excited to welcome our new investors – Avataar Venture Partners, Sofina and Madison India Capital, who share our vision of financial inclusion. Their belief in our ability to enable financial inclusion across the country and empower entrepreneurs in the heart of Bharat has invigorated our commitment to building one of India’s largest tech-led financial services companies.”

The company leverages technology to develop products which target micro-entrepreneurs and semi-skilled professionals (largely in the services sector), who typically do not have or have limited access to lending from formal financing institutions.  Bangalore-based Unitus Capital acted as the exclusive financial transaction advisor to Finova.

Founded in 2015 by Mohit and Sunita Sahney, Finova Capital claimed that it has been profitable since year one, has a presence across 16 states with 400 plus branches, and has served one lakh plus customers. The current assets under management are around Rs 3,000 crore, which represents a 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 60 per cent.

Anirudh Singh, Partner, Avataar Venture Partners, said, “As Avataar’s first investment in the financial services sector, we are delighted to be partnering with Finova, which is the market leader in the micro small and medium enterprises financing space in North, Central, and West India. Mohit, Sunita, and the entire team have demonstrated tremendous execution capabilities to build a technology-driven platform which is highly profitable and has grown 7 fold in the last 4 years driven by strong underwriting and origination capabilities.”