Vistaar Financial Services, a specialised small business financing firm, has rasied Rs 160 crore in Series C investment led by WestBridge Capital.
Existing investors, Elevar Equity, Omidyar Network and Saama Capital have also joined in this round. The money from this round will fund the expansion of Vistaar's network to 250 plus branches across the country over the next four years, with a projected portfolio of over Rs 2,500 crore. Vistaar was co-founded by Brahmanand Hegde and Ramakrishna Nishtala in April 2010.
According to company, Vistaar's target market represents Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) customers, less than 5% of whom have access to credit from the formal financial services sector. An estimated 30 million MSMEs in India contribute to 45% of India's industrial production and approximately 22% of GDP. The MSME sector is severely underfinanced and the credit gap is over Rs 2,75,000 crore, of which 78% is required by small businesses alone, a statement said.
"We are very excited to be an investor in Vistaar, and will work with them to build on their success as India's leading MSME financing business. We have been very impressed with the size of the market opportunity, and the quality and vision of the promoters." said Sumir Chadha, Founder & Managing Director, WestBridge Capital US Advisors.
