Finova Capital secures Rs 1,135 crore from Avataar Venture Partners, Sofina, Madison India others

Date: 29 Oct, 2024

Source: Economic Times

Finova Capital has secured $135 million (about Rs 1,135 crore) in a fresh funding round led by Avataar Venture Partners, Sofina and Madison India Capital, with existing investor Norwest Venture Partners also participating, the Jaipur-based company said on Tuesday.

The new investors join existing shareholders Peak XV Partners, Faering Capital and Maj Invest. The round provided partial exit to some of the early investors, the company said.

The transaction marks business-to-business focused growth-stage fund Avataar Venture Partners’ first investment in the financial services sector in India.

Bengaluru-based Unitus Capital acted as the exclusive financial transaction advisor to Finova Capital.

The small enterprise focused lender plans to use the funds to expand its loan book, invest in technology and enter new markets.

Finova Capital leverages technology to offer credit to micro entrepreneurs and semi-skilled professionals, largely in the services sector, who have limited access to credit from formal financing institutions.

Founded in 2015 by Mohit and Sunita Sahney, Finova Capital has assets under management of Rs 3,000 crore catering to around 100,000 customers through a network of around 400 branches. A rating certificate issued earlier this year by Care Ratings said that the company gets about 81% of its business from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, with Rajasthan accounting for the majority of the business.

For 2023-24, Finova Capital reported total operating income of Rs 529 crore and net profit of Rs 152 crore.

“The founders and the entire team have demonstrated tremendous execution capabilities to build a technology-driven platform which is highly profitable and has grown 7x in the last four years driven by strong underwriting and origination capabilities,” said Anirudh Singh, partner at Avataar Venture Partners.

Finova Capital raises $135 mn from Series E round led by Avataar Venture Partners, Sofina, Madison India

Date: 29 Oct, 2024

Source: MoneyControl

MSME-focused non-banking financial company (NBFC) Finova Capital Private Limited (FCPL) has raised $135 million (approximately Rs 1,120 crore) in a Series E funding round led by Avataar Venture Partners, Belgium-based investment fund Sofina, and Madison India Capital.

Moneycontrol had exclusively reported on the deal in September and Finova's grand fundraise plan from the said investors.

Existing investor Norwest Venture Partners also participated in the round, the firm confirmed in a statement on October 29. The deal also included a secondary transaction component, giving a partial exit to some of the early investors. This also marks Avataar’s first investment in the financial services sector in India.

The Jaipur-based lender will use the funds to grow its loan book, invest in technology, expand geographically and by scale, it said.

Started by banker-turned-entrepreneur Mohit Sahney and his wife Sunita in 2015, Finova is primarily engaged in financing secured MSME loans (backed by immovable properties) and home loans, with a focus on semi-urban and rural areas. Almost 91 percent of Finova’s portfolio is concentrated in semi-urban areas.

“These are creditworthy borrowers who may or may not have traditional income documentation like income tax returns or salary slips and hence, are financially excluded by other large mortgage companies or institutions,” the firm said in its annual report.

The company leverages in-house tech stack to provide loans to micro-entrepreneurs and semi-skilled professionals (largely in the services sector) who have limited or no access to lending from formal financing institutions. Consequently, FCPL has adopted a business model where credit appraisal is based on a cash flow analysis of the borrower, instead of credit history.

The firm claims to have been profitable since the first year of inception, and has presence across 16 states with over 400 branches, and addressed over one lakh customers.

Within MSME financing, the company’s average ticket size is around Rs 3.6 lakh, primarily catering to self-employed clientele.

Finova has disbursed Rs 3,743 crore in loans, with around 73 percent disbursed over the last two-and-a-half years. The company’s disbursements increased 50 percent from Rs 897.33 crore in FY23 to Rs 1,349 crore in FY24. Higher disbursals have a positive impact on its net interest margins, which improved to 15.13 percent as of June 30, 2024.

"We are very excited to welcome our new investors and appreciate the support from our existing investors – Peak XV Partners, Faering Capital, Norwest Venture Partners and Maj Invest. 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 company," said Mohit Sahney, founder and MD of Finova.

Anirudh Singh, partner at Avataar Venture Partners, expressed confidence in Finova’s leadership in MSME financing across North, Central, and West India, highlighting its technology-driven and profitable model that has grown seven times in the past four years. “We believe Finova will emerge as a pan-India market leader,” he said.

Focused on Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Finova has been expanding aggressively to newer states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh over the past year, a Care Ratings report said. It operates in 14 states with a branch network of more than 300.

“We are delighted to support Finova in scaling its operations nationally, and to partner with a talented management team that is taking a dynamic yet prudent approach to enabling financial inclusion in the country,” Tanya Sen, principal at Sofina, said.

Madison India Capital MD Surya Chadha emphasized Finova’s impact on financial inclusion. “We are excited to back Finova in reshaping MSME lending and driving growth.”

Finova recorded an impressive growth in FY24, with revenue jumping almost 60 percent to Rs 530 crore. It posted a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 151.5 crore, a 71 percent year-on-year rise.

Despite catering to the high-risk MSME segment, FCPL has effectively managed collections to prevent minor delinquencies from turning into non-performing assets (NPAs), maintaining solid asset quality. As of March 31, 95.03 percent of its loans were repaid on time.

Its gross NPA and net NPA stood at 1.79 percent and 0.99 percent as against 0.97 percent and 0.32 percent in FY24, the annual report said.

Finova Capital raises $135M in Series E round

Date: 29 Oct, 2024

Source: YourStory

Jaipur-based MSME-focused NBFC Finova Capital raised $135 million in a Series E funding round. The round saw participation from new investors Avataar Venture Partners., Sofina, Madison India Capital, and returning investor, Norwest Venture Partners. 

The company, in a statement, said the round offered exits to early investors. Finova Capital’s investors include Peak XV Partners, Faering Capital, and Maj Invest. It had last raised $65 million in a round led by Norwest in 2022.

The NBFC will use the capital to grow its loan book, invest in technology and expand its geographic presence. At present, Finova’s assets under management (AUM) amount to Rs 3,000 crore with a five-year CAGR of over 60%.

Founded in 2015 by Mohit Sahney and Sunita Sahney, Finova has a presence across 16 states and works with over one lakh customers. It offers working capital loans, machinery loans, and business loans, among others, to MSMEs, offering credit to micro-entrepreneurs and semi-skilled professionals through its technology-led platform. 

“We are very excited to welcome our new investors—Avataar Venture Partners, Sofina, and Madison India Capital, who share our vision of financial inclusion. Along with them, we appreciate the support from our existing investors—Peak XV Partners, Faering Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, and Maj Invest,” said Mohit Sahney, Founder and MD at Finova Capital, in a statement. 

Finova has also built a proprietary underwriting and risk-assessment technology solution targeting untapped customer profiles. 

“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 MSME financing space in North, Central, and West India,” said Anirudh Singh, Partner at Avataar Venture Partners, in the statement. He added that Finova has managed to grow 7X over the last four years.

Finova competes with the likes of Kinara Capital, Indifi and other venture-backed players in the MSME-lending space. 

Bengaluru-based Unitus Capital acted as the exclusive financial transaction advisor to Finova for the round.

Avataar, Sofina, others invest $135 mn in Finova’s Series E round

Date: 29 Oct, 2024

Source: VCCircle

Jaipur-based non-bank lender Finova Capital has raised $135 million (Rs 1,135 crore) in its Series E funding round from Avataar Venture Partners, Sofina, and Madison India Capital, with existing investor Norwest Venture Partners also participating in the round.  

The transaction also provides a partial exit to early investors. It, however, didn’t disclose the names of investors who left the captable. Its early investors include Peak XV Partners, Faering Capital, and Maj Invest.  

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

Founded in 2015 by Mohit Sahney and Sunita Sahney, Finova Capital provides lending products that targets micro-entrepreneurs and semi-skilled professionals, who typically do not have or have limited access to lending from formal financing institutions.  

“...the entire team has demonstrated tremendous execution capabilities to build a technology-driven platform which is highly profitable and has grown 7x in the last 4 years driven by strong underwriting and origination capabilities,” said Anirudh Singh, partner at Avataar Venture Partners.  

The company claims that it has been profitable since its first year of operations. It has a presence across 16 states with more than 400 branches. It has served more than 1 lakh customers. The current AUM of the company stands at around Rs 3,000 crore and has grown with a 5-year CAGR of more than 60%.  

The company had last raised $65 million in March 2022 in a funding round led by Norwest, along with participation from Maj Invest and Faering Capital.   

“...Since our initial investment in 2022, Finova has transformed into a multi-geography financial institution, achieving a threefold AUM growth through strategic investments in people, technology, and infrastructure,” said Niren Shah, managing director and head of India at Norwest.  

Bengaluru-based Unitus Capital acted as the exclusive financial transaction advisor to Finova.  

Small-business lender Finova Capital raises $135 million to expand loan book, invest in tech

Date: 29 Oct, 2024

Source: Mint

Jaipur-based Finova Capital, a non-banking finance company (NBFC) that lends to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), has secured $135 million in Series E funding from Avataar Venture Partners, Sofina, and Madison India Capital as it looks to expand its loan book across regions and invest in technology.

Existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, Peak XV Partners, Faering Capital, and Maj Invest doubled down in the round, providing a partial exit to unnamed early investors, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

The deal marks Avataar Venture Partner’s first investment in India’s financial services sector.

Founded in 2015 by Mohit and Sunita Sahney, Finova targets micro entrepreneurs and semi-skilled professionals who have limited access to formal financing. It has more than 400 brands across 16 cities, and assets under management (AUM) amounting to ₹3,000 crore.

Finova analyses borrowers’ cash flows for credit assessment instead of asking for formal documentation, as the entities it caters to can rarely provide a formal credit history. The company has created custom templates that assist in credit underwriting across various sectors. Bengaluru-based Unitus Capital was the financial advisor to Finova.

The company has raised almost $125 million to date. Its most recent valuation was $376 million as of March 2022, according to data from market intelligence firm Tracxn.

Faering Capital is a mid-market-focused private equity (PE) firm founded by Sameer Shroff and Aditya Parekh, the elder son of HDFC group chairman Deepak Parekh. Sofina is a global investment company listed on the Euronext Brussels.

Anirudh Singh, partner at 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 MSME financing space in North, Central, and West India. The founders – Mohit and Sunita – and the entire team have demonstrated tremendous execution capabilities to build a technology-driven platform which is highly profitable and has grown seven-fold in the past four years driven by strong underwriting and origination capabilities.”

A person aware of the developments said a team was set up to strengthen the underwriting model and expand the use of digital public infrastructure among MSMEs and self-help groups. It falls under the working group for enhancing responsible lending to MSMEs, formed by the department of expenditure under the finance ministry.

"There is no collateral as such in terms of lending towards smaller businesses. This is what the group is looking at – how the risk can be assessed and covered," this person said.

Finova Capital raises $135 million to expand loan book, invest in tech

Date: 29 Oct, 2024

Source: Business Standard

Finova Capital, a micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) non-banking financial company (NBFC), has raised $135 million in a Series E funding round from investors including Avataar Venture Partners, Sofina, Madison India Capital, and Norwest Venture Partners.

The investors join the cap table alongside existing investors Peak XV Partners, Faering Capital, and Maj Invest.

The deal provides a partial exit for early investors in the firm, the Jaipur-based company said.

Finova raised $65 million in a Series D funding round in 2022.

The company has raised $259 million to date, according to data from market intelligence platform Tracxn.

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

The firm has a presence across 16 states with over 400 branches. Its current assets under management (AUM) are pegged at Rs 3,000 crore.

“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,” said Mohit Sahney, founder and managing director, Finova.

The company provides business loans to MSMEs.

“The founders—Mohit and Sunita—and the entire team have demonstrated tremendous execution capabilities to build a technology-driven platform that is highly profitable and has grown 7x in the last four years, driven by strong underwriting and origination capabilities,” said Anirudh Singh, partner at Avataar Venture Partners.

Financial services firm Finova Capital bags $65 million in funding from Norwest, others

Date: 31 Mar, 2022

Source: Economic Times

Non-banking financial company Finova Capital has raised $65 million from Norwest Venture Partners, Maj Invest and Faering Capital, a senior company official said. The micro, small and medium enterprises or MSME-focused lender will use the funds to grow its loan book, invest in technology, expand geographically and further its vision of enabling financial inclusion at scale.

Of the total capital, Norwest Venture (NVP) brought in $45 million, with the rest coming from other new and existiing Investors.

In 2020, the company had raised $35 million from investors led by Sequoia Capital.

The Jaipur-based firm addresses customer segments like micro entrepreneurs and semi-skilled professionals who do not have or have limited access to lending from formal financing institutions. The loans are tailored to the needs of its target segment of small service providers, manufacturers and retailers.

Founded in 2016 by Mohit Sahney and Sunita Sahney, Finova Capital has 180 branches spread across 8 states in west, north and central India. It has 20,000 plus customers and more than Rs 1,000 crore loan book. Finova continues to expand to its neighbouring regions, utilizing and building on its internal domain knowledge and processes, a company statement said.

Finova is backed by 34 banks, NBFCs and AIFs.

We continue to invest heavily in our tech capabilities and operations to further improve our goal to help realize the dreams of millions of small entrepreneurs over the next decade. Our processes combined with disciplined underwriting has ensured our resilience to the pandemic while keeping the growth and portfolio quality intact, said Mohit Sahney, founder and CEO of Finova.

Finova has demonstrated best-in-class asset quality, having built a solid underwriting framework with the use of tech and data analytics and has built a low cost, diversified liability franchisee in North, West and Central India, said Niren Shah, managing director and head of NVP India.

According to a November 2021 report by Crisil, after weathering multiple challenges over the past three fiscals, assets under management (AUM) of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) is set to grow 8-10% next fiscal, riding on two tailwinds improving economic activity, and strengthened balance sheet buffers.

We believe in Finovas ability to grow profitably while also creating a significant impact, said David Paradiso, partner at Maj Invest.

As early investors in Finova Capital, we have had the opportunity to witness the companys strong growth in the last three years.., said Aditya Parekh, cofounder and managing director at Faering Capital.

New-age NBFCs

Date: 04 Feb, 2020

Source: Business Today

A new breed of tech-savvy players is targeting niche lending segments not covered by banks and traditional NBFCs. Their journey is not without challenges

If I walk on the road, all the small entrepreneurs on my left and right are our potential customers," says Mohit Sahney, whose Rajasthan-based non-banking finance company (NBFC) Finova Capital caters only to the financially underserved people such as tea sellers, tailors and hairdressers. Sahney started the business four years ago, after leaving his decade-old job at private sector ICICI Bank. Similarly, Mumbai-based UGRO Capital, founded by industry veteran Sachindra Nath, specialises in financing select sectors in the SME space. UGRO is also innovating on the distribution front with multiple co-lending models, including what it calls "uberisation" of intermediation. Another new-age NBFC, CredAble, is bridging the credit gap in supply chain financing for MSMEs, as traditional banks and NBFCs serve only the creamy layer of suppliers and distributors. "On a two-month basis, there is a Rs 1 lakh crore working capital credit gap in India. Our mission is to triple the working capital available in India over the next five years," says Nirav Choksi, Co-founder and CEO, CredAble.

Sahney, Nath and Choksi are among the hundreds of finance and technology professionals who are transforming the credit space with their innovative solutions and products. These new-age NBFCs or fintechs are rewriting the rules of the lending business by boarding new sets of customers, out-of-the-box risk assessment tools, tapping newer/smaller geographies and partnering with banks and traditional NBFCs for co-lending.

A recent PWC report says such NBFCs are reshaping the entire lending value chain from customer acquisition and credit scoring to loan servicing and recovery.

Let's look at their business models.

Geographical Proof of Concept

Finova Capital is focussing on microentrepreneurs and smaller loans/geographies. It has built templates for assessing cash flow or income of small entrepreneurs who do not have credit history or proper documentation. For instance, the template for tea stall owners estimates monthly cash flow or income based on the quantity of milk and sugar consumed and the number of gas cylinders used, apart from retail and corporate sales (to offices).

The company offers loans of Rs 3-10 lakh for two-seven years. The loan book grew 150 per cent to Rs 245 crore in 2018/19. "I give higher loan limit with longer repayment period than any bank or NBFC," says Sahney. The company borrows from the market for the long term to avoid asset-liability mismatches. Its funders include close to a dozen banks and institutions. The entire NBFC sector was badly hit after the IL&FS crisis as most lenders were using short-term borrowings to lend for the long term.

Finova's strategy is to get business in one state and use the lessons learnt there in other states. "Our major branches in Rajasthan are in rural and semi-urban areas," says Sahney, who is now expanding in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi. His focus - like AU Small Finance Bank, which also emerged from Rajasthan - is areas where people from lower to middle income groups are not served by the traditional banks.

The business, started with a capital of Rs 10 crore, has attracted investments by big private equity firms such as Sequoia Capital and Faering Capital (founded by Deepak Parekh's son Aditya Parekh). Aditya Parekh is also a director on the board. "We have been profitable from the first year itself," says Sahney. The company reported 180 per cent growth in income from Rs 15.38 crore in 2017/18 to Rs 43.05 crore in 2018/19.

Experts say the biggest risk to Finova comes from geographical concentration. A majority of its loans are to MSMEs. "We are expanding into newer markets like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh," says Sahney. The company is also keeping the option of co-lending with banks and other institutions open. "We have mastered the templates for lending to those who are underserved and unbanked. We are open to working with other institutions," says Sahney. The success of Bandhan Bank in Kolkata and AU Small Finance Bank in Rajasthan are inspiring regional-focussed NBFCs to scale up nationally and build their case for a banking licence.

Uberisation in Financial Services

Nath of UGRO Capital says the success of such lenders will depend on solving problems not being addressed by banks and traditional NBFCs. South-based Shriram Capital created a business around financing used trucks. Similarly, Mannapuram and Muthoot tapped the potential of the gold loan business. More recently, Pune-based Bajaj Finance stormed the consumer durables finance market which hardly had any bank or finance company because of small ticket size of the loans and low margins. URGO is positioning itself as an SME financer in niche segments. "Only 10 per cent SMEs in India have access to credit. This is a business where growth is not a challenge," says Nath, whose firm has raised around Rs 1,000 crore growth capital from private equity investors. Flipkart Co-founder Sachin Bansal has invested Rs 50 crore through non-convertible debentures.

Nath plans to bring in a high degree of specialisation along with scale in the SME space. The company carried out a year-long study of 180 business sectors in terms of contribution to GDP, availability of bank credit and regulations. The list was filtered down to eight broad sectors - healthcare, education, chemical, food processing & FMCG, hospitality, electrical equipment, auto component and light engineering. There is further sub-division of sectors to whom UGRO plans to lend. For instance, healthcare has sub-sectors such as eye/dental clinics, pharmacy, radiology and pathology. Similarly, education has segments such as K12 and playschool. "We have picked up sectors that are macro resilient," says Nath.

Like UGRO, Indifi has set its eyes on hotels, restaurants, travel agents along with mobile, apparel and grocery stores. Neogrowth is focussed on two broad segments - retailers with point of sale machines and online sellers.

All these new NBFCs are not relying solely on financial records and income tax returns to determine the borrower's creditworthiness. "We have modified the credit bureau score with a build-in proprietary score," says Nath. UGRO has multiple customer acquisition strategies and has brought in the concept of "uberisation" of financial services. "We are tying up with intermediaries such as chartered accountants and software service providers with SME customers to reach out to customers," says Nath. The second big channel is ecosystem financing. The third is the co-lending model in rural areas where it plans to tie up with NBFCs with a good branch network. The company recently tied up with another NBFC, Sunvest Capital, a specialist in rooftop solar financing, for co-lending to MSMEs. It has set up a corpus of Rs 20 crore for this. It has also entered into a co-origination partnership with banks like SBI and Bank of Baroda. "Our aspiration is to cover a loan from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore," says Nath. Ugro's monthly disbursals are over Rs 100 crore. The target is Rs 1,200 crore by March 2020.

Little Loans, Very Short Term Tenure

Imagine a company giving loans of as low as Rs 5,000 for a month. Bengaluru-based Avail Finance is doing exactly that. Its targets are low-income group and blue-collar workers like security guards, maids, drivers. "It is the first loan for most of our borrowers," says Ankush Aggarwal, Founder, Avail Finance. "Our model is anchor-led. We partner with staffing agencies. This reduces instances of defaults/frauds," says Aggarwal. The company charges 2 per cent interest per month for amounts higher than Rs 5,000. It also has a loan product of Rs 20,000 for a five-month period. Most of its customers earn less than Rs 20,000 a month and have no regular employment, credit history with bureaus or proper identity and residential proof documents.

Like Aggarwal's Avail Finance, Bon Credit is serving gig economy workers such as taxi drivers and delivery agents. Chennai-based Open Tap caters to mid- to low-income workers who earn Rs 6,000-25,000 per month. Pune-based Early Salary, as the name suggests, offers loans against future salaries. Then there is New Delhi-based Money In Minutes, which gives small cash loans of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000, with a repayment period of two to four weeks. One of its interesting products is a "bad credit loan" for people with bad credit history. There are also dozens of peer-to-peer lenders serving the small loan segment by providing a meeting platform for lenders (investors) and borrowers.

Banks and NBFCs have in the past stayed away from small ticket and short tenure loans. Some who entered the segment burnt their fingers around the 2008 global financial meltdown. The fintechs are now filling the gap.

Supply Chain Gaps

Banks and traditional NBFCs have been into supply chain financing for long. But almost 80 per cent vendors, suppliers and distributors do not get short-term working capital support because of lack of collateral or strong balance sheet. The new fintech players are using technology to connect large corporates with their supply chains. Several players such as CredAble, KredX and Vayana Network are using the cash flow method to lend to such players. These vendors and distributors can sell their invoices or receivables on an online discounting platform to get instant funds. This has been made possible due to regulatory encouragement. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with an online discounting system called TReDS. Three players have already got licences for offering an online-discounting platform. A recent finance ministry-appointed committee has recommended integrating GSTN data with TReDS exchanges to enable cash flow-based lending by banks and NBFCs.

Even as the government is creating a platform to facilitate lending to these small supply-chain entrepreneurs, the fintechs are spreading their wings. Mumbai-based CredAble says the 60-day credit cycle has a Rs 1 lakh-crore gap. "Our mission is to triple the available working capital in India over the next five years," says Choksi of CredAble. The company focusses on suppliers and distributors in sectors such as logistics, transportation, facility management, raw materials and packaging. Choksi's company works with leading private sector and multinational banks."We own the relationship with the enterprise and its vendors and suppliers. We bring in banks and other capital market participants to undertake supply chain financing. We act like an investment banker," says Choksi.

Supply-chain financing, say experts, is set to achieve substantial scale with government and fintechs (working with banks) pitching in to help vendors and suppliers, which are mostly MSMEs.

White Spaces in Education Sector

Lending to the education sector has always been restricted to loans for higher studies in India and abroad. Public sector banks, which always complained of higher NPAs in the education segment, focussed on low-ticket size education loans whereas private and foreign banks looked at loans for studying in the top-notch institutes. Segments like lending to schools, especially play schools, coaching centres and vocational and higher studies institutes, remained neglected. Not now. South-based Varthana lends to affordable private schools. It offers a Rs 5 lakh unsecured loan for three years. The only eligibility is that the school should have a three-year record and facilities for at least 300 students. It also has a secured product offering loans up to Rs 2 crore for larger schools for a period of eight years. The school should have a three-year track record and facilities for at least 500 students. Another NBFC, Intec Capital, offers loans to private schools, coaching centres and private vocational colleges.

Challenges and Way Forward

These new-age NBFCs are set to increase their contribution to consumption and GDP. At present, they all are starting with growth capital raised from venture capitalists and private equity players. Experts say investors' enthusiasm can be a good proxy to gauge their impact on the ground. A finance ministry report quoted total investment of $2.3 billion by private equity and venture capitalist players in fintechs in 2016 and 2017. In the first half of calendar year 2018, the figure was $640 million. Globally, fintech investments reached a record $57.9 billion during the period.

The Challenges

        √ Scaling up is a challenge, real picture to emerge after three-five years

        √ Competition from small finance banks and traditional NBFCs

        √ Raising resources from market and banks is not easy

        √ Concentration risk as they operate in limited geography, with single product

        √ Private equity presence, likely dilution of promoter equity, as companies scale up

        √ Too many fintech players competing in the same space

Clearly, India is in a sweet spot. There is a huge potential for credit expansion as our credit to GDP ratio is abysmally low at 57 per cent. For China, the figure is over 200 per cent (See Huge Potential for Credit Expansion).

At present, traditional NBFCs' share in banking industry advances is about 20 per cent. Their share in balance sheet is just 15 per cent. Also, the NBFC is a fragmented segment with 10,000-plus entities, whereas there are about 100 commercial banks. According to a report, Beyond Fintech by the World Economic Forum, fintechs are setting the foundation for disrupting the incumbent financial institutions. Their biggest differentiation is customised solutions unlike banks' one-size-fits-all approach. They are also shifting from collateral lending to cash flow-based lending, which in itself can open up a huge market. In terms of risk management, they are relying on much larger databases (e-commerce transactions, RTO data ) and social media tools than the traditional credit bureaus, which use just the banking relationship to arrive at a credit score.

The real success of these NBFCs will be tested when they scale up and face stress on loan books. They also have to go through many economic cycles to test the capacity of borrowers to pay in difficult times. Going forward, there are also issues like data privacy. At present, customer data is freely shared with third parties without consent. "The industry should ensure that consumer consent is obtained upfront and data governance standards are in place to safeguard customer data," says a PWC report. The industry will have to ensure good corporate governance, strong management and long-term sustainability of profits. The biggest competition will come from small finance banks and tech-savvy private banks as they can easily replicate the products using their low cost of funds to their advantage. "Banks prefer to play in higher loan-ticket size. There is a huge opportunity for all if one looks at parameters like credit to GDP or mortgage to GDP ratios in India," says Sahney of Finova Capital.

Finova Capital raises $15 mn from Faering Capital and Sequoia India

Date: 25 Mar, 2019

Source: YourStory

Finova Capital aims to serve the '"missing middle"' of the MSME segment, small businesses and service providers in small towns and rural areas

Jaipur based Finova Capital (Finova), a Non-Banking Financial Company, has raised $15 million from Faering Capital and existing investor Sequoia India. Finova will use the funds to expand its presence and enable access to credit for the unbanked population.

Finova Capitalaims to serve the missing middle of the MSME segment, small businesses and service providers in small towns and rural areas, who are looking for mid-ticket loans of INR 5-6 lakhs for a period of up to seven years. The loans are provided at customized terms and designed keeping the end customer in mind.

Finova, which was founded in 2016 by Mohit & Sunita Sahney, has disbursed loans of Rs. 250+ crores to over 4,500+ customers till date. Currently operating out of 52 branches across Rajasthan, the company plans to expand to over 75 branches across Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh by the end of Dec 2019.

Finova analyzes borrowers cash flows as opposed to formal documentation for credit assessment, since the segment that it addresses rarely has formal documentation. The company has created custom templates that assist in credit underwriting across various sectors. Finova also helps the financially excluded segments attain financial literacy, thus making them eligible for digital disbursement and repayment of loans.

Talking about the fund raise, Mohit Sahney, founder and CEO of Finova said, We are very excited to welcomeFaering Capitalto be a part of our journey given their significant track record of investments in the financial services space. We are at an important juncture as we continue to find innovative ways to provide the unbanked population access to business loans doing so as one of the few players in the running a profitable operation from inception.

Faering Capitalis delighted to partner with Finova which has established itself as a profitable and fast growing SME lender that uniquely addresses the funding needs of small businesses. Our investment in Finova is consistent with our investment approach of backing strong management teams that are building market leading companies in their area of focus. said Aditya Parekh, Co-founder and Managing Director, Faering Capital

We are impressed with the companys execution over the last two years and we believe Mohit and team are on to building a large business with strong credit performance, said Ishaan Mittal, Principal, Sequoia India Capital Advisors. Since inception, Finova has focused on deepening presence across Rajasthan while also building a strong team that can scale the business in the coming years.Sequoia Indiais happy to have participated significantly in this round to help the company expand to new states and make financial inclusion a reality for small businesses across the country.

Bangalore based Unitus Capital acted as exclusive financial transaction advisor to Finova, while Vertices Partners, Trilegal and Themis Associates acted as legal advisors to the transaction.

With Robust Backing from Sequoia, this Fintech Startup Aims to Redefine lending for the Unorganized Sector

Date: 14 Apr, 2018

Source: Entrepreneur India

Getting Sequoia Capital to pump in venture capital is no mean thing.

In March this year, early-stage Finance startup Finova Capital wooed investment major Sequoia Capital to participate in a second tranche Series A round that saw as much as USD 6 Million being raised. Now, the latest round of funding assumes significance considering the fact that Finova Capital (which is NBFC Licensed by the Reserve Bank of India) was founded in 2016 and has so far managed to raise a consolidated venture capital (VC) of INR 52 crores.

In this regard,Entrepreneur India interacted with Mohit Sahney who is Founder and CEO at Jaipur-based Finova.

We are NBFC focussed on MSME space & do funding in small tickets & in smaller semi urban, rural markets, states Sahney to Entrepreneur India.

The Funding journey of Finova

As per Sahney, Finova Capital has managed to raise INR 52 crores as consolidated capital; with INR 38 crores amounting to VC funds raised through Sequoia Capital.

Sequoia has given us venture capital, and we are working with as many as thirteen investors who have lent us debt, explains Sahney.

Now, it is worth noting that Sequoias GV Ravishankar has also mentored Finova apart from just having invested venture capital on the startup.

As far as connecting with Sequoia is concerned, Sahney explains that it was his earlier stint at ICICI Home Finance that enabled him to clearly analyse the mortgage business.

Looking at my experience, and the huge unmet demand in the MSME domain, Sequoia Capital decided to invest in us, explains Sahney.

Sahney explains that Finova Capital, since its inception, has been profitable; which helped to connect better with Sequoia.

We don’t believe in burning cash. For us, income is first and then comes expense, informs Sahney.

Developing the right technology-driven models

With today’s investors taking keen interest on the technology focus of new ventures, Sahney states that the startups domain-specific templates that helps address credit worthiness within unorganized segments served as the icing on the cake with respect to getting funded.

Sector Analysis

Sahney believes that with Indias heterogeneous market nature, there has to be an amalgamation of both Fintech as well as conventional approaches when it comes to the financial sector. He states that venture capital funds are always seeking the right entrepreneurs with the right models.

For new entrants, Sahneys recommendation is to focus on making businesses self-sustainable. He advises entrepreneurs to develop long-term plans and think professionally focussing on wealth creation.

Always remember that corporate governance and compliance is a must, and there are no shortcuts, he signs-off.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Profitable from year one, Finova Capital closes Series A funding from Sequoia India

Date: 12 Sep, 2017

Source: YourStory

Finova Capital, a Jaipur-based non-banking financial company (NBFC), announced on Tuesday that it had raised an undisclosed amount in Series A financing from Sequoia India. The MSME lending firm will use the funds to expand its presence across the country.

Some members of Finova Capital with their CEO, Mohit Sahney

Story so far

News

Founded in March 2016 by Mohit Sahney, Finova Capital is an RBI-registered NBFC. It provides home and business loans to MSMEs by bringing access to formal credit to their doorsteps. Finova Capital aims to provide affordable and customer-centred credit to micro, small, and medium enterprises in a time-bound fashion. This is done by leveraging technology and efficient products, relevant policies, and robust processes.

MSME finance in India is a largely unorganised sector, especially in smaller markets which have significant opportunities for small businesses but lack access to formal credit. Most players in this space exist at two ends of a lending spectrum:

1.Those who disburse low-ticket loans: Rs 2-3 lakh for a period of two-three years.

2.The larger players: who lend above Rs 25 lakh for 15 years or more.

Finova Capital aims to serve the "missing middle" of the MSME segment, small businesses and services in small-town and rural India who are looking for mid-ticket loans - Rs 8-9 lakh for a period of up to seven years. The loans are provided at customised interest rates and flexible tenure plans. Talking to YourStory, Mohit Sahney, CEO, Finova Capital, noted that their interest rates, while dependent on many factors, are about 18 percent on average.

Finova claims to have disbursed close to Rs 45 crore to over 500 small businesses till date. With a team of 50 employees, the venture has five branches across Rajasthan.

How Finova Capital works

Given the sector it addresses, Mohit noted that Finova looks at a borrower's cash flow as opposed to formal documentation for credit assessment. The company has created customised templates which are used to analyse credit ratings across each sector. Mohit explained that they have customised templates for different professions ranging from chaiwallahs to carpenters. He said,

A large chunk of India's MSME market falls into the service sector. And this is the segment we cater to - the electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and chaiwallahs, those who don't have access to much-needed capital due to lack of formal documentation, financial literacy, or presence of mid-level players."

Mohit further explained that Finova currently works with 10 lenders and is looking to explore further partnerships to expand its lending portfolio. The team expects to end the year at 100 crore assets under management (AUM) in its second year of operationswhile having been profitable from the first year itself. Mohit shared 

We feel that a marriage of technology and brick and mortar would work well in a complex country like ours, so we are investing in technology to digitise everything right from loan application to disbursement.

To ensure timely repayment of loans, Mohit said that his team engages in financial literacy programmes that tell their customers exactly what they are signing up for. Finova also leverages technology to send timely alerts and reminders to customers.

But considering that MSME financing has long been a disorganised sector, Mohit admitted thathis team faces many challenges on a regular basis, which include finding locations which are cost-effective, local experts who understand the framework, educating the borrowers who are used to working with money lenders, and even creating customised templates for cash-flow analysis.

The arrival of demonetisation in late 2016, though, turned out to be a boon in disguise. Mohit explained that with surplus cash deposits in the bank during demonetisation, liquidity in the system ensured growth for Finova as they had already got their customers to embrace digital transactions. Also, the fact that their customers mainly constituted electricians, plumbers, and chaiwallahs, who come under the essentials category, ensured that there was a constant flow of capital.

GV Ravi Shankar, Managing Director, Sequoia India Capital Advisors, said,

Finova Capital is addressing a critical need gap in the highly underserved MSME market by making credit available to small businesses with undocumented income through their innovative credit models. Sequoia is delighted to partner with Mohit and his team to build a market leading platform for MSME lending in the country.

Sector overview and future plans

According to a PwC report,NBFCs have scripted great success stories andrecorded healthy growth a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19 percent over the past few years comprising 13 percent of the total credit and expected to reach nearly 18 percent by 201819.The World Bank too has endorsed the use of reported non-financial data in the credit origination processes and considers it a powerful tool for driving financial inclusion in emerging markets.

Some of the notable NBFC players in India include LendingKart,InCred, LoanFrame, and Cointribe,among others. Lendingkart was recently in the news for havingraised Rs 70 crore in equity funding

Mohit explained that for the near future, Finova aims to focus only on Rajasthan and the goal is toexpand to 15 branches by the end of FY 17. With the funds raised, the startup aims to increase headcount to 120 employees and further invest in technology.

Finova Capital on-boards banking, finance veterans Rahul Sahney & Anurag Agrawal

Date: 28 Jun, 2017

Source: Business Standard

Finova Capital on-boards banking, finance veterans Rahul Sahney & Anurag Agrawal

Rajasthan's fastest growing NBFC licensed by RBI, Finova Capital has announced on-boarding Rahul Sahney and Anurag Agrawal as Chief Operation Officer and head of Credit and Operations at Finova Capital.

"I am excited to announce that Rahul Sahney, previously associated with Axis Bank and Reliance ConsumerFinanceetc will be joining Finova Capital as the COO. He brings on board an enriching industry experience and hands-on knowledge and his contributions will be crucial in the growth of our enterprise. Furthermore, it gives me immense pleasure to welcome Anurag Agrawal as Head - Credit and Operations. Being associated with established conglomerates like ICICI Bank and Tata Telecommunications, Agrawal has the right vision and domain expertise to take Finova Capital at the pinnacle of success. I look forward to collaborating with these two visionaries and propelling Finova Capital on its projected growth curve," said MD and CEO of Finova Capital, Mohit Sahney.

Rahul Sahney has rich experience of over 13 years in Financial Services Industry. In his previous undertaking, Rahul was associated with institutes like Axis bank, Reliance consumer finance, AU Financiers, and the Standard Chartered Bank. Rahul is credited with scaling up constructionfinancebusinessin AU financiers.

On his new undertaking, Rahul Sahney, COO, Finova Capital, said "It is exciting to be part of Finova Capital that is focused at bringing about financial inclusion within the non-urban sections. I look forward to collaborating with the team and making credit solutions easily available and accessible to the MSMEs."

Echoing the same thought, Anurag Agrawal, Head of Credit and Operations at Finova Capital said, "I am glad to join Finova Capital and assist the NBFC in its crusade for financial inclusion and growth of the MSMEs in India." In the past, Anurag Agrawal has handled several key leadership positions and has been associated with ICICI Bank and Tata Telecommunications.