Lok Capital LLC, a venture fund focused on the microfinance sector in India, recently announced an equity investment in RuralShores Business Services Private Limited, which provides outsourced data entry services to businesses within India and abroad. The amount of the investment was not disclosed, but the funds will be used to open additional operating centers in rural areas of India. Murali Vullaganti, CEO of Rural Shores, said, “This strategic investment by Lok Capital will help us to work with microfinance institutions, where we believe we can reduce the cost per transaction by delivering services out of our rural centers.” Four such centers are now operational, and the plan is to open 500 over seven years.
Additional resources:
Rural Shores: http://ruralshores.com/
Lok Capital on the MicroCapital Universe: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Lok+Capital+LLC
Source press release (not available online):
LOK CAPITAL INVESTS IN RURALSHORES BUSINESS SERVICES PVT LTD.
February 05th, 2010, NEW DELHI — Lok Capital LLC, a venture fund focused on the microfinance sector in India, announces an equity investment in RuralShores Business Services Pvt Ltd.
Lok Capital LLC has invested in RuralShores Business Services Pvt Ltd. Lok’s investment will allow the company to continue to expand its reach by opening additional operating centers in rural areas of India.
Rural Shores was founded in 2008 by a dynamic group of promoters including Mr. V.V. Ranganathan, formerly a senior Partner of Ernst & Young and co-founder & Chairman of Pinnacle Opportunities; Mr. C.N. Ram, previously CIO of HDFC Bank; Ms. R. Sujatha, who has founded a BPO business, MMC Infotech; Mr. Sudhakar Ram, Chairman and Managing Director of Mastek; Mr. G. Srinivasan a 25 year finance veteran with companies including Dawn Consulting and Wipro Finance; and Mr. Murali Vullaganti, formerly Mangaging Director of Xansa and earlier a Senior Executive with EDS in the US and Asia Pacific.
RuralShores’ business model has been designed to ensure scalability and sustainability of its operations by creating real value, not only for the shareholders, but for all stakeholders and to have a positive contribution to the communities in which they function. The Business Model has been designed to achieve the vision of setting up of 500 centers in seven years across the length and breadth of India. It is spearheading the rollout and operations of these centers across the nation through local entrepreneurs. RuralShores and each center will be run on a commercial basis to ensure long term sustainability.
Mr. Murali Vullaganti, CEO of Rural Shores, welcomed the investment by Lok Capital saying “We are very happy to partner with Lok Capital. This strategic investment by Lok Capital will help us to work with microfinance institutions, where we believe we can reduce the cost per transaction by delivering services out of our rural centers. We have already established 4 centers and will be commencing another 3 in the immediate term”
Mr. Venky Natarajan, Managing Director of Delhi-based Lok Advisory Services, expressed his enthusiasm saying “RuralShores presents a tremendously exciting opportunity. We are very happy to partner in this venture to create employment and value at the “Base of the Pyramid.” Through the first few centers of RuralShores, Murali and the RuralShores team have demonstrated that an outsourcing facility located in a rural area can create employment in the villages while delivering services at the highest quality in a sustained manner. We believe that this partnership will help microfinance institutions in outsourcing some of their non-core processes and thus cutting operating costs.”
ABOUT RURALSHORES BUSINESS SERVICES PVT LTD.
RuralShores Business Services Pvt. Ltd. is a rural-focused socio-commercial initiative dedicated to create employment in villages all over India through the establishment of Rural Business Processing Centers. The organization is geared to set up 500 centers across the country in 6 years with each center employing nearly 200 people from surrounding villages. This initiative is expected to create nearly 100,000 direct jobs and 300,000 more indirect livelihood opportunities across Rural India. HDFC Ltd. is a strategic investor holding 26% equity in RuralShores.
ABOUT LOK CAPITAL LLC
Lok Capital LLC is a $22 million Mauritius-based venture capital fund investing in commercially-oriented microfinance institutions in India. The Lok Capital fund is advised in India by Lok Advisory Services Pvt Ltd, a New Delhi-based firm composed of management and finance professionals.
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CCAF-World Bank Study Finds Regulators in Africa Tops for Increasing Focus on Fintech, Cybersecurity Main Concern Worldwide
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Investors Buy $173m in Equity in Fusion Microfinance of India; IPO Allows Exits by Early Shareholders, Promoters
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mogo Kenya Borrowing $7m from Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund to Boost Vehicle Ownership
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Semaai Raises Equity from Accion, XA Network, Beenext, Surge for Technology Supporting Farmers, Agricultural MSMEs in Indonesia
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB Lends Credo Bank $10m for MSMEs in Georgia
