Navadhan, a rural-focused fintech startup, has raised INR 111 Cr ($12.8 Mn) in its Series A funding round, led by NABARD’s venture capital arm NabVentures.
Prime Ventures co-led the round, with participation from LNB Group, Varanium NexGen Fintech Fund, Gemba Capital, Faad, VC-Grid, and Anicut.
The initial funding target was INR 80 Cr, but the round was oversubscribed to INR 111 Cr.
The fresh capital will be used to enhance Navadhan’s tech platform, AceN, expand its presence, and diversify its loan offerings.
Founded in 2019 by Nitin Agrawal, Vijay Haswani, Anirudh Ramakuru, and Amit Biswal, Navadhan provides financial solutions to small businesses and microenterprises in rural areas.
Through its AceN platform, it offers digital onboarding, underwriting, payments, and collections, while connecting borrowers to banks and NBFCs.
The platform uses data science-powered underwriting to assess borrowers’ digital footprints and cash flow patterns.
It claims to have access to over INR 700 Cr in debt lines from 25 financial institutions and operates across 700 pincodes in five states – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Odisha.
Also Read: Google to Acquire Wiz for $32 Billion in Largest-Ever Deal
Expressing his enthusiasm, Navadhan co-founder Nitin Agrawal said, “We are happy to find investors who share our mission of creating new wealth for rural entrepreneurs.”
NabVentures CIO Ashish Choudhary highlighted the startup’s significant growth, noting a 12x increase over three years while maintaining strong asset quality. With the fresh funding, Navadhan aims to further its commitment to empowering rural MSMEs.
