Aye Finance Bags INR 125 Cr Debt From Invest In Visions

Gurugram-based financial services startup Aye Finance has raised INR 125 Cr in debt from Germany-based impact investor, Invest in Vision. The company is looking to use this funding to lend to the disadvantageous micro-enterprise sector and facilitate job creation and their inclusion into the folds of organised lending.

Commenting on the fundraise, Sanjay Sharma, managing director of Aye Finance said, “Access to adequate capital has never been more significant than in these current times of economic disruptions and we are committed to supporting grassroots business through these trying times as well with our loan offerings.”

This funding comes only two weeks after the company raised INR 210 Cr ($27 Mn) in Series E funding round from existing investors LGT Capital Partners, CapitalG International, Maj Invest Financial Inclusion Fund II, Falcon Edge India and A91 Emerging Fund I at a pre-money valuation of INR 1,700 Cr ($224 Mn).

According to the ministry of corporate affairs filing accessed by Inc42, Aye Finance allocated 34,09,800 Series E Cumulative Convertible Preference Share (CCPS)  these companies at a face value of INR 10 per share at a price of INR 615.87 which includes a premium of INR 605.87.

The company was founded in 2014 by Sharma and Vikram Jetly to offer B2B loans to unbanked micro-enterprises of India. So far, it has raised over INR 690 Cr in equity and over INR 2000 Cr in debt through various debt instruments. 

The company is currently offering its services in 14 states and plans to expand into Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the coming years. The company has over 173 branches and 2,900 employees. So far, the company has disbursed 2 Lakh loans amounting to INR 2,700 Cr to over 196K small scale businesses in the country.

According to DataLabs by Inc42+ report, the total gross value added (GVA) of the Indian MSME sector by FY20 is estimated to be $866 Bn, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.12%. Another report from the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise stated that the MSME sector provided employment to more than 123 Mn workers in FY16. In 2016, the total GVA of the MSME sector was $568 Bn, which contributed 28.77% to the total GDP of India.