Participated · Debt Financing · Feb 2024

Dvara Kshetriya Gramin Financials (Dvara KGFS) is an NBFC operating in isolated rural areas of India, focused on the welfare of people and nano and microbusinesses. The company employs an omni-channel strategy to meet various financial needs by offering a wide selection of loans and third-party products. It is spread across ten states with more than 400 branches, including Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Bihar. Led by LVLN Murty, Dvara KGFS aims to expand and bolster efforts to empower marginalized communities nationwide using recently raised funds. Financially, the company exceeded Rs 2,000 crore in assets under management in February of this year. Recent financing activity includes debt instruments intended to support the company's expansion plans in rural markets. Dvara KGFS is a rural fintech focused on providing holistic financial services, with an emphasis on microfinance and microbusiness lending to customers with limited access to formal credit. The company plans to use newly raised funds to expand its onward lending program and accelerate growth in underserved regions. It mobilised $27 million in debt financing—$20 million as external commercial borrowings (ECBs) from Dutch development bank FMO and $7 million from Enabling Qapital, Luxembourg. Management said the funds will augment liquidity and enable expansion of reach and impact, driving financial inclusion in rural India. Dvara KGFS recently reported assets under management (AUM) crossing ₹2,000 crore and operates across 10 states with 378 branches. Its distribution includes 10,281 digital agents and more than 2.38 million customers. Dvara KGFS is a Chennai-based, systemically important non-banking finance company in the Dvara Group that focuses on rural lending. It has presence in Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha, operating 378 branches and serving more than 1.1 million enrolled customers. The company has raised $10 million in external commercial borrowings (ECBs), split between subordinated and senior secured debt. Management said the funds will augment capital adequacy and help accelerate its growth plans in FY24. The raise is intended to expand the company’s reach and impact to drive financial inclusion in rural areas. Company leadership also noted the fundraiser diversified its lender profile and strengthened its presence in the foreign debt market. Dvara Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (Dvara KGFS) is a Chennai-based NBFC that provides access to financial services and credit in remote rural India. The company operates in Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Odisha across 33 districts and the article reports 221 branches and more than 844,845 enrolled customers. The article also states the company has 248 branches and plans to add 76 more branches in the current financial year. It intends to use the Series E proceeds to acquire NBFC-MFI Varam Capital, expand into newer geographies, strengthen presence in existing ones, and enhance its digital architecture. Dvara KGFS plans to introduce products including an affordable micro-housing loan and to deepen its micro-enterprise and jewel-loan portfolios. The company is also looking to raise more than INR 600 crore of debt from banks, NBFCs, NCDs and ECB sources.

Led · Equity · Jun 2022

BURN Manufacturing produces clean cookstoves, including electric and biomass models, aimed at replacing traditional cooking fuels. The company secured a $12 million investment to scale distribution of its appliances across multiple African countries over the next two years. Funds will support distribution and subsidize stove costs through carbon financing mechanisms. The initiative targets direct benefits to 1.5 million people and avoidance of over 12 million tons of carbon emissions. BURN frames the effort as addressing health, environmental, economic, and gender impacts of traditional cooking and continues its mission to bring clean cooking appliances to households across Africa, improving health and quality of life. BURN Manufacturing designs and distributes clean cookstoves and develops carbon‑offset projects. The company is described in reporting as a leading global clean cookstove manufacturer, distributor, and carbon‑offset project developer. Recent financing will support distribution of stoves to households in Mozambique, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Africa Go Green Fund announced strategic financing of $10 million to BURN to fund this distribution. AGG is managed by Cygnum Capital Asset Management and invests in projects in Sub‑Saharan Africa that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The financing ties BURN’s product distribution to carbon‑offset project development in those markets. BURN Manufacturing designs and manufactures biomass, electric, and LPG cookstoves from a vertically integrated, solar-powered facility in Nairobi. Its industrial-scale plant currently has capacity of over 50,000 stoves per month and employs over 600 people, 60% of whom are women. Since founding in 2013, BURN's products have delivered energy access to 7.5 million people across 14 African countries. The company plans multi-country expansion into Somalia, Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and aims to serve 47 million customers over the next seven years. BURN expects this growth to create over 2,000 jobs and offset roughly 72 million tons of CO2e. The company is in an active growth phase and has secured new long-term financing to scale production and enter new markets.