Date: 20 Sep 2017
Mumbai: Gaya-based rural financial services provider CSC Bank Mitra Pvt. Ltd (CSC) on Tuesday said it has raised $6 million in a series A round of funding from international impact investor Incofin Investment Management.
Incofin, which has almost $850 million of assets under management, has invested in CSC through its latest fund, AGRIF, which focuses on agricultural and financial services businesses.
AGRIF is a $175-million fund that invests across the globe. Incofin promotes financial inclusion, particularly in rural areas and the agricultural sector.
Incorporated in 2009, CSC Bank Mitra has established a large banking business correspondent network in India with more than 17 million clients across 24 states.
It offers a gamut of banking products through its business correspondent networks.
The company also has a lending business focusing on small and medium enterprises and microfinance institutions.
CSC plans to utilize the funds to capitalize and expand its two subsidiaries, operating as non-banking finance companies, which offer loans to small and medium enterprises and microfinance products.The investment will also help the company strengthen its technology and analytics capabilities, it said in a statement.
New Delhi-based Apical Capital Advisors acted as the sole financial advisor to CSC.The company has evolved its business model from brick and mortar to a more fintech-enabled one, according to Aditya Bhandari, co-head for Asia at Incofin.
This allows them to efficiently service areas which are outside the current radar of most players in the financial inclusion landscape. They are at the cusp of a disruptive yet powerful growth phase and we are glad to partner with the entrepreneurial team at CSC," Bhandari said.
Incofin’s current investments in India include agri-to-finance integrated group Sohan Lal Commodity Management, and microfinance companies Fusion Microfinance and Annapurna Microfinance.