Source: Business Standard.
Original article available here.
NEW DELHI, March 19 – Lok Capital LLC, an India focused microfinance venture capital fund, raises its fund size to USD 22 million to measure up to the growing needs of its current and potential microfinance partners.
Lok Capital was launched with the objective of providing equity capital and venture support to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India to facilitate the delivery of affordable financial services, primarily to the low-income households in India, in a commercially viable and sustainable manner.
Lok Capital raised its first round from institutional investors; CDC, FMO, KfW, and IFC. In the recent round, Lok Capital has maintained its institutional funding base and at the same time accessed capital from sector-specific institutions like ACCION International (a private, nonprofit organization, provides technical support to its partner organisations), responsAbility (a Swiss agency, provides funding and investment services to microfinance institutions), Développement International Desjardins (DID, a Canadian corporation that provides technical support and investment for the community finance sector). The fund raise will enable Lok Capital to tap the international microfinance expertise of its investors and provide more focused support to its MFI partners in India.
The announcement of Lok Capital’s fund raise was made at a recent round-table organized by Lok Capital in New Delhi, where several microfinance industry professionals had met to share their perspectives on growth, investments, organizational development and other key issues relating to the sector.
Lok Capital’s portfolio currently comprises of Spandana, Janalakshmi and Satin. Spandana, is one of the largest and most efficient MFIs in the country and has operations across eight states in India. Janalakshmi is an early stage organisation operating out of Bangalore, with a mandate to fulfill credit needs of the low income urban population. Satin is an MFI based out of Delhi with operations panning across north India.
Vishal Mehta, Managing Director, Lok Advisory Services Pvt Ltd stated, “Having developed an on-the-ground business for Lok over the last few years, with a fully functional, local venture team in place, we are more confident about our ability to deliver venture support to a larger number of MFIs and contribute to the overall growth of the microfinance sector. The increased capital base will enable us to reach out to a few more MFIs than what we had originally envisaged but more importantly, it will allow us to develop deeper relationships with our investees.”
Lok Capital LLC is a USD 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 team of management and finance professionals
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