Source: Lok Capital.
New Delhia, November 24 – Lok Capital LLC invested USD 798,000 (INR 40 million) in Jagannatha Financial Services Limited. Lok’s investment will allow the company to expand its borrower base, implement a new technology platform and provide additional range of products for the existing clients.
Mr. S. Kathiresan, promoter of the Lok Capital LLC KAS group, launched KAS Foundation in August 2003 and Kathir Foundation in April 2004 with a vision for his group of institutions “to become a self-sustaining change agent to enable the low income community to convert itself into a progressive, education and economically empowered society”. In April 2006, to achieve more rapid growth and enhance outreach, he launched Jagannatha Financial Services Ltd, a Non-Banking Financial Company.
Jagannatha Financial Services mainly provides credit services to groups of rural and semi-urban women. JFSL is headquartered in Bhubaneshwar and has operations in Orissa, Maharashtra and TamilNadu. JFSL has disbursed USD 14 million (INR 700 million) in Microfinance loans and serves 80,000 borrowers.
Mr. S. Kathiresan, CEO of JFSL, welcomed Lok Capital to the team: “We are delighted to partner with Lok Capital. We believe our partnership will lead to strengthening of lending to the poor. JFSL stands committed to develop diverse financial products for the poor.”
Mr. Venky Natarajan, Director of Delhi-based Lok Advisory Services, which advised the Lok Capital Fund on the transaction, expressed his enthusiasm for the investment into JFSL: “Over the years JFSL has built its credibility in providing credit to the underserved clientele. We believe that JFSL is now in a good position to leverage its existing branch network and exponentially increase its borrower base by providing a range of microfinance products tailored for specific demographies. Lok is looking forward to support JFSL in expanding its current network to provide a host of financial services to the largely underserved population of Northern India. We are confident that this investment represents one of the best opportunities for supporting the growth of the microfinance in India.”
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