Kinara Capital secures USD 10 million from IndusInd Bank

By Edil Corneille

Today, Bengaluru-based socially responsible FinTech, Kinara Capital, announced the securing of USD 10 million (INR 740 million) from IndusInd Bank with a 100% guaranty from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). This is a part of a debt and equity round of INR 1 billion, with equity contribution coming from Kinara’s existing investors – Gaja Capital, GAWA Capital, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF) and Patamar Capital. This investment will be utilized by Kinara Capital towards the expansion of MSME financial inclusion across manufacturing, trading, and services sectors in India. Kinara Capital has disbursed INR 20 billion across over 56,000 collateral-free small business loans.

The special USD $10 million investment for onward lending to small business entrepreneurs will be deployed over five years from IndusInd Bank’s Impact Investing division with full backing from DFC, part of the US federal government. This three-way partnership between Kinara Capital, IndusInd Bank and DFC unites the organizations’ shared goals to promote entrepreneurship, financial inclusion and job creation.

FinTech facilitating financial inclusion for MSMEs in India

“Our partnership with IndusInd and DFC underscores our shared commitment to ease the credit hurdle faced by most small business entrepreneurs in India,” said Hardika Shah, Founder & CEO, Kinara Capital, “MSMEs galvanize India’s economy with income generation and job creation and there is an ever increasing demand for financing for businesses to rebuild and grow this year. This investment from IndusInd Bank and DFC will accelerate financial inclusion of small businesses, thereby invigorating local economies.”

“We are glad to have associated with DFC to support a strong impact creating entity, Kinara Capital, in their growth trajectory,” said Roopa Satish, Head, Corporate & Investment Banking, CSR & Sustainable Banking, IndusInd Bank, “The guaranty from DFC eliminates foreign exchange rate fluctuation risk from the balance sheet of Kinara and it has become an important tool to mobilize debt funding for impact space companies.”

“We hold the organizations that we fund to a very high standard and Kinara Capital is a role model when it comes to last-mile delivery,” said Loren Rodwin, Managing Director, Social Enterprise Finance Team, Office of Development Credit at U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). “Commitment towards financial inclusion from Kinara Capital has made it possible for us to collaboratively help India’s small business entrepreneurs. We are motivated by the high potential and the high prospects of the diverse MSME sector in India and proud to partner with both IndusInd and Kinara Capital.”

Kinara Capital provides collateral-free business loans in the range of INR 100,000 to INR 3 million. In offering both digital and doorstep customer service options, MSMEs benefit from the convenience of Kinara’s 24-hour direct disbursements and flexible payment options on more than 400 platforms.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML)-based data-driven automated credit decisioning enables Kinara to lend confidently without relying on property collateral or credit scores for risk assessment. About 90% of Kinara’s customer base is new to credit, receiving their first-ever business loan from Kirana. The social impact of Kinara’s financial inclusion work to date is said to have led to an incremental income generation of over INR 7 billion for small business entrepreneurs and led to more than 250,000 jobs created or sustained across 90+ urban, peri-urban and rural locations in India.