ⓘ Featured image: S. Viswanatha Prasad, founder & managing director of Caspian Debt
Hyderabad, India-based corporate lender Caspian Debt on Friday (8 May) revealed that it has raised $20 million from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) as a long-term debt.
As covered by a number of publications, the investment is a combination of subordinated and senior debt which will enable Caspian to provide customised and collateral-free loans digitally to professionally managed enterprises operating in high impact sectors in India – including, microfinance, SME finance, affordable housing, affordable healthcare, sustainable agribusiness and education.
Commenting on the investment round and sharing the company’s mission, S. Viswanatha Prasad, founder and managing director of Caspian Debt in a statement said,
“We will use this funding to focus on promoting disruptive entrepreneurs, who are pushing the envelope for creating sustainable impact. This vote of trust from DFC is even more valuable at a time when the whole world, especially the small and medium companies, are dealing with the economic aftermath of a global pandemic,”
Caspian Debt is primiarily focused on the first-generation social entrepreneurs who find it difficult to raise working capital. The company has lent over $219 million across over 140 early-stage enterprises in the last 7 years.
Backing the mission of Caspian Debt with an absolute ground, Anthony Randazzo, CFA Investment Director on the Social Enterprise Finance Team at DFC, said,
“Small businesses are the engine of growth and job creation in India, and high impact businesses are the vehicle for achieving a more responsible, sustainable and equitable economic future,”
Showing confidence in Caspian Debt, Randazzo further added,
“This follow-on loan is an expression of confidence we place in the important work that Caspian Debt does and demonstrates our long-term commitment, particularly in these uncertain times.”
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