Avanti Finance raises $24 million in a Series B round to support its 'smallholder' financial product

Avanti Finance, a Bengaluru-based non-bank finance company (NBFC), has received a $24 million funding cheque in a Series B round to support its “smallholder ecosystem” strategy, which focuses on providing data-driven finance solutions to smallholder farmers through local cooperatives and service providers.

Launched in 2016, Avanti uses a digital delivery model to provide frictionless, affordable, and hyperlocal credit products to smallholder farmers in the unserved and underserved segments of rural India enabling them to build sustainable livelihoods.

The company claims it has created over 180 customised loan products for different types of livelihood and income flows and has disbursed over ₹1300 crore of loans to about 275,000 households without any proprietary branches. In the next 24 months, it aims to expand to 1.5 million households with ₹2,500 crore in assets under management.

The company has a network of partnerships with social enterprises, financial institutions, business correspondents, agritech firms and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) across 300 districts in 24 states in India.

The funding, which was led by Rabo Partnerships and IDH Farmfit Fund, along with participation from existing investors Oikocredit and NRJN Trust, comes 18 months after the company raised $15 million as part of its Series A extended round in October 2021.