Asirvad Microfinance, a subsidiary of Manappuram Finance, announced on Monday that it had raised $15 million (approximately Rs 110 crore) in a seven-year external commercial borrowing loan from WorldBusiness Capital Inc. (WBC) in the United States.

Asirvad Microfinance Limited is an NBFc founded by an IIT and IIM alumnus, Shri. S.V. Raja Vaidyanathan, and his family. Through its network of branches in 22 Indian states, it provides microfinance loans to women from low-income households.

According to Asirvad Microfinance, the loan is backed by the US International Development Finance Corporation.

The company has raised funds through term loans from leading banks and NBFCs, listed NCDs, and completed numerous securitization deals with banks.

The loan proceeds, obtained under the terms of external commercial borrowing (ECB), will allow Asirvad to expand its business of providing small loans to low-income women business owners in rural areas.

According to the company, this is Asirvad's third long-term facility denominated in foreign currency from an international financial institution.
This transaction is a significant boost to the microfinance sector and demonstrates Asirvad's resilience and speed in recovering, according to Raja Vaidyanathan, Managing Director of Asirvad. According to Rob Monyak, Executive Vice-President and Chief Lending Officer for Eurasia/Africa at WBC, Asirvad is critical in meeting the needs of women-owned businesses operating in rural areas.

Vaidyanathan founded Asirvad in 2007, and the company was sold to Manappuram Finance in 2015. It has a customer base of approximately 260 lakh women, who are served by 7,000 employees spread across 1,000 branches in 23 states.
Raja Vaidyanathan, MD of Asirvad Microfinance, said, “This transaction with an international institution coming at this challenging juncture certainly gives a boost to the microfinance sector and reiterates the resilience Asirvad has always shown, and the speed at which it bounces back.”

Manappuram Finance acquired a 94.78 percent stake in the Chennai-based company in February 2015.

WBC was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. It is a regulated commercial finance company that provides flexible term loans to small and medium-sized businesses in industries such as manufacturing, distribution, logistics, transportation, food processing, packaging, renewables, financial services, and others.

Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East are among the regions covered by WBC.