IANS | 25 Apr, 2024
Financial services platform Northern Arc on Wednesday said that it
secured $80 million in funding from the International Finance
Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
The
investment comprises an equal split of equity and debt, each
contributing around $40 million, demonstrating IFC’s confidence in
Northern Arc’s scalable and sustainable business model and India’s
expanding credit market, the company said.
"The investment marks
the beginning of a long-term relationship with IFC and other
multi-laterals who believe in the India story and Northern Arc playing
an instrumental role in India’s growth story through financial
inclusion," Ashish Mehrotra, MD and CEO of Northern Arc, said in a
statement.
The company said that the new funding from IFC will
support the expansion of Northern Arc’s reach to end customers,
fostering social impact through improved credit access to customers
across its focused sectors.
"Our partnership with Northern Arc is a
key component of our strategy to harness private sector expertise and
finance in reaching millions of MSMEs and mid-market companies through
innovative products," said Wendy Werner, IFC India Country Head.
As
of September 30, 2023, Northern Arc has facilitated financing of over
Rs 1.5 trillion in credit through its technology platform using data
insights derived from a large data repository and domain expertise,
underscoring its role in the financial ecosystem.