Manappuram Finance subsidiary Asirvad Microfin raises $15 million in ECB from WBC

Manappuram Finance took over the Chennai-based company in February 2015, and at present has a 94.78% stake.

Asirvad Microfinance, a subsidiary of Manappuram Finance, has announced the closing of a US$15 million (Rs 111.15 crore), seven-year commercial loan from US-based WorldBusiness Capital (WBC).

The loan availed under India’s ECB norms will enable Asirvad to expand its business of providing small loans to low-income women business owners in rural areas to start and expand their businesses, sources said.

The WBC loan will be Asirvad’s third long-term facility denominated in foreign currency from an international financial institution. WBC’s loan is supported by the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the US government’s developing finance institution.

Raja Vaidyanathan, MD of Asirvad Microfinance, said, “This transaction with an international institution coming at this challenging juncture certainly gives a boost to the microfinance sector and reiterates the resilience Asirvad has always shown, and the speed at which it bounces back.”

Manappuram Finance took over the Chennai-based company in February 2015, and at present has a 94.78% stake.

In FY2021, the pandemic-induced slowdown impacted growth and there was a marginal erosion in assets under management (AUM) to Rs 5,357 crore as of Q3, FY 2021.

The company reported a net profit of Rs 17.7 crore in Q3FY21, against a net profit of Rs 71.21 crore in the year-ago period.

Asirvad has more than 1,047 branches in 24 states.