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Janaagraha founder Ramesh Ramanathan promoted micro-finance company Janalakshmi closes Series D funding of Rs 350 crore

Janaagraha founder Ramesh Ramanathan promoted micro-finance company Janalakshmi closes Series D funding of Rs 350 crore

Thursday August 15, 2013 , 3 min Read

Ramesh Ramanathan, founder Jaanagraha and promoter of MFI, Janalakshmi Financial Services.
Ramesh Ramanathan, founder Janaagraha and promoter of MFI, Janalakshmi Financial Services.

Janaagraha founder Ramesh Ramanathan, promoted micro-finance company, Janalakshmi Financial Services (Janalakshmi) has closed a Series D funding of Rs 350 crore. The round was included by a consortium of investors that was led by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA), with Tata Capital Growth Fund and QRG Enterprises, the promoter holding company of Havells India also investing. Existing investors – Citi Venture Capital (CVCI Private Equity), India Financial Inclusion Fund and Vallabh Bhanshali – also participated. Series A investors Lok Capital and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation received an exit through secondary transactions worth Rs 25 crore.

Janalakshmi (literal translation, ‘People’s Wealth’) is among the very few MFIs focused on urban Indian microfinance and on comprehensive financial inclusion, which extends substantially beyond group credit. The entire promoter stake is held in a not-for-profit Section 25 company, Jana Urban Foundation, which focuses on addressing larger issues related to urban inclusion. The structure ensures that no financial benefit arising from the performance of Janalakshmi accrues personally to the promoter.

The Janalakshmi management team has over 300 years of cumulative banking experience. They include R Srinivasan (Executive Vice Chairman), a former civil servant with 45+ years of experience with ANZ Grindlays Bank, Fitch Ratings, the Indian Revenue Service and JP Morgan, and V.S. Radhakrishnan (MD & CEO), a veteran banker with 25+ years experience with HSBC and ING Vysya Bank and who is also an IIM-A alumnus.

“This investment will help us continue in our path of growth and innovation, as we continue to focus on building stronger customer relationships with a full suite of financial products and new technology – like Aadhar based front end terminals,” said V. S. Radhakrishnan, MD & CEO, Janalakshmi.

“Janalakshmi has emerged as a thought leader in the urban microfinance space, backed by a passionate and ambitious founder, a professional management team and excellent systems and processes. It is well-positioned to become a pioneer in providing inclusive financial services to the urban-underserved,” said Aluri Rao, Managing Director of Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia.

Eric Savage, co-founder and president of Unitus Capital added, “With this landmark transaction, Janalakshmi has again established itself at the cutting edge of financial inclusion, and they are just getting started. I can’t wait to see the transformative impact they will have on millions of lives in the coming years”

About Janalakshmi:

Janalakshmi is a for-profit MFI with assets of more than Rs 1200 crore as on date. Janalakshmi’s market-based approach to financial inclusion is defined by three distinct characteristics: first, an exclusive focus on servicing the needs of the urban poor; second, a strong customer-value driven approach in designing financial products and services; third, the centrality of technology and processes as the foundation of a scalable enterprise (for more information on www.janalakshmi.com).

Photo credit: www.flickr.com