Proparco invests $15 million in the Indian microfinance institution Annapurna

Bhubaneshwar based Annapurna Finance (“Annapurna”), founded in 2009 by Mr. Gobinda Chandra Pattanaik and Mr. Dibyajyoti Pattanaik, is among the top five NBFC-MFIs in India and has crossed the INR 6,500 crore AUM milestone. It has presence across 20 states across the country with over 980 branches and is continuously expanding while utilizing and building on its internal domain knowledge and its processes perfected since its inception. With a pan India rural distribution network and a multi-product strategy, it offers micro credit loans, home improvement, and MSME loans to individuals and small businesses. Then fundraise will help Annapurna in strengthening their tech stack to bring in more efficient, automated and paperless financial products to the unbanked and underbanked.  

Talking about the fund raise, Mr Gobinda Chandra Pattanaik, Managing Director, Annapurna Finance, said, “We are thrilled to have our existing debt partner Proparco further support us and now partner with us on the equity side. Their belief in our ability to enable financial inclusion across the country and empower women has fortified our commitment to building one of India’s largest financial services company. We continue to invest heavily in our tech capabilities and operations to further boost the financial inclusion objectives of Annapurna over the next decade and strive to take it towards out larger banking ambitions.” 

“It gives us immense pleasure to back the founders, who have meticulously, thoughtfully and consistently built Annapurna, with a strong yet nimble business model that has focused on making financial services and products available to financial excluded people specially women in rural areas of India.  We are looking forward to Annapurna’s exciting journey and believe in their ability to grow profitably while also creating a significant impact.”, said Ms. Diane Jegam, Regional Director – South Asia, Proparco.