Indian School Finance Company Secures $6 Mn From Gray Matters Capital

Hyderabad-based private institutional lender to the education sector, Indian School Finance Company (ISFC) has raised $6 Mn Series A funding from social venture capital firm Gray Matters Capital.

The company will use the newly raised funds to increase its loan ticket size and reach out to more clients.

“Our company focusses on funding the education segment’s much-needed capital to build infrastructure,” said, Neeraj Sharma, CEO, ISFC. He further added, “Current equity infusion will provide the necessary boost required by us to leapfrog to the next level of growth.”

ISFC is a Non-Banking Finance Company engaged in the business of lending to educational institutions and entrepreneurs managing such institutions. The company started its operations in December 2008 from Hyderabad and has expanded since to other cities.

ISFC aims to assist schools and other education institutions in capacity-building through infrastructure improvements, thereby enabling students to access quality education.

According to the company website, ISFC caters to the entire education segment, but more particularly its focus areas include affordable private schools, private schools, play schools, private degree and vocational colleges, coaching centres, teachers, and SMEs catering goods and services to the education segment.

“India has a huge base of affordable private schools, which presents a huge opportunity to scale. With the absence of significant competition, growth is possible both by going deep and going wide,” said Robert Pattillo, founder of Atlanta-based Gray Matters Capital.

As per a company statement, IFSC has distributed more than 3,000 loans across 13 states and will expand to two more states by the end of this year. Prior to this ISFC raised capital from Gray Ghost Ventures and Caspian Advisors.

Gray Matters Capital is an impact investing enterprise founded by Bob Pattillo. It actively invests in sustainable, replicable business models that benefit underserved populations in developing countries and was founded in Atlanta in 2006.  It grew out of a like-minded enterprise founded in 2000, called Gray Ghost Ventures.

Last month Noida-based LIQVID eLearning Services, an educational software company raised close to $1 Mn in Series A funding from Gray Matters Capital.

The development was reported by ET.