MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution Annapurna Raises $30m in Equity from TIAA’s Nuveen, Other Investors to Support Lending for Women, SMEs, Housing, Green Finance in India

Annapurna Finance, a microfinance institution (MFI) in India that primarily funds women, recently announced it has raised USD 30 million in equity. The lead investor is US-based asset manager Nuveen, via its Global Impact Fund. The identities of the other investors in this round have not been made public. The investment is slated to boost the MFI’s group and individual microlending in rural areas.

In a statement, Annapurna said, “Nuveen bought a significant minority stake in the business. It will play a role driving the company’s strategy, helping the firm to identify and execute potential acquisitions as well as leveraging the company’s significant outreach to broaden its climate initiatives.”

Established in 2009, Annapurna Finance delivers services for women; people with disabilities; and micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in rural areas via 850 branches across 18 states in India. These services include insurance as well as secured and unsecured loans for purposes such as housing upgrades, solar equipment, dairy farming, agriculture and purchasing appliances. Per its 2020 annual report, Annapurna had a gross loan portfolio of INR 40 billion (USD 536 million) outstanding to 1.7 million borrowers. The firm’s investors include the Asian Development Bank, the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), India’s DCB (Development Credit Bank) Bank, the Netherlands’ Oikocredit, the Oman India Joint Investment Fund, India’s Small Industries Development Bank of India and US-based Women’s World Banking.

Founded in 1898, Nuveen is based in the city of Chicago. As of February 2021, it had USD 6.2 billion in total assets and was managing USD 363 billion in equities. Nuveen is a subsidiary of the Teacher’s Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA), a US-based manager of approximately USD 1 trillion in assets deployed in 50 countries.

By Sophie Fiala, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

VCCircle article
https://www.vccircle.com/nuveen-global-impact-leads-funding-for-annapurna-finance

Annapurna Finance homepage
https://annapurnafinance.in/

Annapurna Finance 2020 annual report
https://annapurnafinance.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Annual%20Report%202020.pdf

Nuveen homepage
https://www.nuveen.com/

Nuveen investment offerings
https://www.nuveen.com/global/investment-capabilities/

TIAA homepage
https://www.tiaa.org/

Did you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.