Peak XV Partners leads ₹565-crore investment in rural credit startup SarvaGram Solutions

SarvaGram Solutions, a Pune-based credit platform that focuses on rural areas, has secured ₹565 crore in a Series D investment led by Peak XV Partners. It plans to use the funds to expand its credit products business to more parts of the country.

Existing investors Temasek, Elevar Equity, Elevation Capital and TVS Capital also participated in the round. With this, the firm has raised ₹950 crore in total to date.

Founded in 2019 by ​​Utpal Isser and Sameer Mishra, SarvaGram facilitates access to financial and productivity-enhancement products such as loans, farm mechanisation services and insurance, using technology to select the right products and disburse loans.

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The company offers loans to service the diverse credit needs of its three key household segments – farm, salaried and small-business households. With 150 branches across five states, SarvaGram said it has nearly ₹1,200 crore in assets under management, with 70% this secured against property.

The company also provides access to insurance products and farm mechanisation services through an on-ground workforce and local franchise partners.

“The fundraise will boost our mission of putting more power in the hands of rural households by enhancing their access and ease them into a curated set of financial and productivity enhancing solutions,” said Utpal Isser, co-founder and chief executive of SarvaGram Solutions. 

Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to SarvaGram on this transaction.

RBI, NABARD to push rural loans

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das said in August the central bank was looking at a nationwide launch of a technological platform called the Unified Lending Interface (ULI) in due course to speed up disbursal of credit, especially to rural and smaller borrowers, Mint reported.

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Separately, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will launch a ₹1,000-crore fund to bolster technology-driven agri-startups and rural enterprises, its chairman Shaji KV said earlier this year.

The fund will back startups facing challenges in scaling their operations because of limited access to equity and debt, and will seek to foster new linkages in the rural ecosystem, both forward and backward.

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