Annapurna Finance (AFPL), a Micro & SME Finance institution in India, has raised $109.5 million through a multilateral syndicated social loan facility under the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) framework. The transaction was exclusively arranged by Standard Chartered Bank (SCB).
The facility involved 10 reputed financial institutions from Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa. It was structured under a Social Financing framework which was reviewed and validated by S&P Global, supporting Annapurna’s focus on financial inclusion. There is a green-shoe option to raise an additional $40 million apart from the above-mentioned amount.
The funds will be used for on-lending to microfinance borrowers with a focus on rural women and underserved populations. The initiative aims to expand access to financial services, enhance economic participation, and contribute to development in underbanked regions of India.
“This transaction marks an important milestone for Annapurna Finance. The participation of financial institutions from multiple regions reflects confidence in our financial inclusion efforts. These funds will support our mission to extend credit to rural and underserved communities, and for Annapurna long-term foreign borrowings strengthen the ALM position and bring diversity in funding sources,” said Gobinda Chandra Pattanaik, Managing Director of Annapurna Finance.
Founded in 2009, Annapurna Finance is among the top five NBFC-MFIs in India by Assets Under Management (AUM). The company serves over 2.9 million borrowers across 21 states through 1,500+ branches in 424 districts.
