Avanti Finance raises $14.2m in Series B1B2 round from Dia Vikas Capital

By Gloria Mathias

India-based Avanti Finance (Avanti), a technology-led NBFC focused on financial inclusion, has secured $14.2 million (INR 120 crore) in equity funding from Dia Vikas Capital, existing investors IDH Farmfit Fund, NRJN Family Trust, Rabo Partnerships, and select HNIs.

The company’s early investors include The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Oiko Credit, and Nomura. Dia Vikas Capital is a subsidiary of Opportunity International Australia. It partners with inclusive financial service providers to provide innovative, sustainable, resilient, and scalable solutions that address the complex nature of poverty and leverage digital technologies to scale and sustain them.

The capital infusion will enhance the loan book, improve deep-tech platform capabilities for product innovation, and expand channels in rural and urban areas.

Avanti Finance previously raised $24 million in a Series B funding round in April last year. With the current funding, the total amount raised to date stands at around USD 80 million.

Rahul Gupta, CEO of Avanti Finance, said, “We are delighted to have Dia Vikas Capital partner in  Avanti’s journey to usher in a next-gen financial inclusion platform that is focused on creating sustainable livelihoods for the next 100 million households that are un/underserved. The repeated investment from our existing shareholders is also a strong validation of our transformational asset-light and capital-efficient model. This growth capital will be used to increase our loan book, further strengthen the capabilities of our deep tech platform for ongoing innovation of frictionless credit for our customers, and augment our channels in both rural & urban segments.”

Arpita Pal Agrawal, MD & CEO of Dia Vikas Capital, stated, “We are really excited to partner with Avanti with their vision and work to create impact at scale across India by combining the power of technology and a curated network of diverse partners to offer hyperlocal, crowdsourced, fit-for-purpose loan products to enhance the financial well-being of low-income households.”

Avanti Finance launched in 2018 and offers small-ticket loans primarily to microenterprises for income generation and working capital. It has also made an encouraging foray into the urban gig worker segment.