AVANA Companies, a private credit platform, announced its expansion into India after receiving a Certificate of Registration (CoR) for a non-deposit taking Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) license from the Reserve Bank of India, for its wholly owned subsidiary, LendThrive Finance.
The company has opened a regional office in Pune, India and plans to launch direct commercial lending operations to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India within the next six months, extending its successful model that has deployed over $6.5 billion in loans to more than 500 small businesses across the United States.
For AVANA’s U.S. partners, this move represents AVANA’s evolution into a global private credit platform capable of deploying capital across the United States, Middle East, and now India.
AVANA has committed an initial capitalization of $1.5 million to meet license requirements and plans to invest another $20 million to grow the business, with a total investment goal of $25 million over three years.
AVANA will launch lending operations from its Pune headquarters within six months, with regional expansion to other key cities, including Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and New Delhi in the future. AVANA recently hired Siddharth Purandare, former head of SME business at Edelweiss Financial Services, as managing director for India operations. The company is actively hiring for key roles in compliance, accounts, credit, operations and sales and plans to build a team of about 120 people if the company reaches $1 billion in business over the next 5-7 years.
AVANA’s digital-first operational approach includes customer onboarding through digital channels, with a physical team for loan servicing and collections. The company plans to establish branches in major cities as hubs for regional operations and work with loan-sourcing agents to acquire customers. While initial lending will focus on working capital, hospitality, and real estate-backed loans, the company also plans to scale into supply chain finance, equipment financing, and import-export financing for small businesses operating between India, USA, and Gulf regions, segments with strong parallels to AVANA’s U.S. portfolio.
Sundip Patel, CEO and co-founder of AVANA Companies, said, “India represents a tremendous opportunity for AVANA Companies to extend our mission of providing capital that fuels entrepreneurship, job creation, and sustainable growth across borders. As an entrepreneur with Indian heritage, I’ve seen firsthand how access to capital transforms businesses and communities. This expansion allows us to bring our relationship-driven lending approach to a country where family businesses and entrepreneurs drive the economy, creating meaningful impact in communities across India.”
He adds, “Small business owners are the heartbeat of India’s economy, driving innovation and creating jobs in communities across the country. By combining our tech-enabled lending approach with our impact-first philosophy, we see tremendous opportunity to improve access to capital for these entrepreneurs, unlocking their fuller potential. We see the faces behind these businesses and understand their aspirations go beyond balance sheets.”
