MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oman India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF) Buys $23m Equity Stake in India’s Annapurna Microfinance

The Oman India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF), a private equity investor associated with the governments of India and Oman, recently placed an equity investment of INR 1.6 billion (USD 23 million) in Annapurna Microfinance Private Limited, a non-deposit-taking microfinance institution (MFI) specializing in serving women in rural India. The size of the stake, which OIJIF bought through its second fund, OIJIF II, remains undisclosed.

Annapurna will use the money it has raised to expand its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and housing lending as well as to invest in technology that will improve the firm’s operational efficiency. According to Satyajit Das, the CFO of Annapurna, the equity sale is part of a plan that includes “raising INR 4 billion (USD 60 million), of which [the] primary equity infusion will be INR 3 billion (USD 45 million) and [the] secondary will be INR 1 billion (USD 15 million). The company has already raised INR 1.6 billion (USD 23 million) from OIJIF as [part of the] primary equity infusion. We are expecting this entire fund-raise to be completed by the second quarter of the year.”

Headquartered in the city of Bhubaneswar, Annapurna is organized as a for-profit non-banking financial company. It was created in 1988 as a spin-off from the People’s Forum, a nonprofit development organization. As of March 2017, Annapurna reported total assets of INR 15 billion (USD 228 million) and a gross loan portfolio of INR 12 billion (USD 185 million). It serves approximately 1.2 million customers via 400 branches in 14 Indian states.

Based in the city of Mumbai, OIJIF invests in companies active in India. It is co-sponsored by the State General Reserve Fund of Oman and the State Bank of India. A typical OIJIF investment ranges in size from USD 10 million to USD 15 million. Its OIJIF I fund, which raised USD 100 million, disbursed its first investment in 2012 and holds a portfolio of seven companies operating in the financial services, manufacturing, mining and retail sectors. OIJIF II, which was created in 2017, holds stakes in three firms in the financial services and automotive sectors as of 2018. OIJIF II is targeted to reach a volume of USD 300 million.

By Nicholas Galimberti, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

LiveMint press release
https://www.livemint.com/Money/vOJxZo28bknjOtiBYZOIuM/Microfinance-lender-Annapurna-raises-Rs155-crore-from-OIJIF.html

Annapurna background
http://ampl.net.in/about-us/

Annapurna annual report
http://ampl.net.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Annual-Report_2017.pdf

OIJIF website
http://www.oijif.com

MicroCapital Brief; February 2, 2016; Symbiotics Issues $22m in Bonds to Benefit Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Annapurna, ESAF Microfinance and Investment (EMFIL), Satin Creditcare
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-symbiotics-issues-22m-in-bonds-to-benefit-indian-microfinance-institutions-mfis-annapurna-esaf-microfinance-and-investment-emfil-satin-creditcare/

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