[Funding] Kinara Capital secures USD 10 million debt fund from IndusInd Bank

Fintech Kinara Capital has announced that it has secured $10 million (INR 74 crores) from IndusInd Bank. The fund comes with a 100% guarantee from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). With this capital, Kinara aims to complete its part debt and part equity round of INR 100 crores. The equity contribution will come from Kinara’s existing investors. They are– Gaja Capital, GAWA Capital, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF) and Patamar Capital. Kinara Capital aims to use this fund to expand its MSME financial inclusion across manufacturing, trading, and services sectors in India.

The company will use the fund for onward lending to small business entrepreneurs over a period of five years. The three-way partnership between Kinara Capital, IndusInd Bank and DFC aims to unite the organizations’ shared goals to promote entrepreneurship, financial inclusion and job creation. “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. 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,” he further added.

About Kinara Capital

Kinara Capital brings a wide variety of MSMEs into the financial inclusion fold. For example, small-scale manufacturing industries and general retail shops to service businesses. It provides collateral-free business loans in the range of INR 1-30 lakhs. Thus, it offers both digital and doorstep customer service options. Further, the company states that MSMEs appreciate the convenience of Kinara’s fast 24-hour direct disbursements and flexible payment options on 400+ platforms, such as Google Pay.

The company uses AI-ML to automate credit decision making. This further enables Kinara to lend confidently without relying on property collateral or credit scores for risk assessment. Thus, about 90% of Kinara’s customer base is new to credit, receiving its first-ever business loan from the company. The social impact of Kinara’s financial inclusion work to date has led to an incremental income generation of INR 700+ crores 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