UGRO Capital, an India-based DataTech NBFC specialising in MSME and small-business financing, has raised Rs 380 crore by a non-convertible debenture subject absolutely subscribed by FMO, marking the Dutch improvement financial institution’s third funding within the lender in lower than three years.
The MSME-focused lending platform issued 38,000 senior, secured, rated, listed, redeemable and transferable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) with a five-year tenor.
FMO, formally Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V., is the Dutch entrepreneurial improvement financial institution.
It beforehand invested Rs 250 crore in UGRO Capital by NCDs in December 2023 and an extra Rs 260 crore in February 2025.
UGRO Capital stated the proceeds from the most recent subject shall be used to finance women-owned and women-led small and medium-sized enterprises, youth-owned and youth-led companies, and rural SMEs.
The funding will even contribute to the financing or refinancing of eligible inexperienced tasks in step with FMO’s sustainability method.
In accordance with UGRO Capital, the five-year tenor is aligned with the longer-duration secured lending it supplies to small companies in Tier-3 areas and past.
The investment varieties a part of the corporate’s technique to construct a extra diversified, long-tenor institutional funding base and cut back its dependence on the home banking system.
It has raised greater than Rs 1,300 crore in debt from improvement finance establishments and impact-focused investors in India and abroad.
These embody FMO, Danish sovereign improvement fund IFU, the Asian Growth Financial institution, Triple Leap, BlueOrchard, responsAbility, Calvert Impression Capital, Enabling Qapital, GMO, WaterEquity and MicroVest.
The corporate lends to small companies which have traditionally had restricted entry to formal credit score, together with enterprises with annual turnover beneath Rs 3 crore that will lack the tax data and audited monetary statements sometimes required by standard lenders.
UGRO Capital makes use of its proprietary GRO Rating underwriting mannequin to evaluate debtors on the idea of banking money flows, that are verified in particular person by department workers.
Its Rising Market lending is secured towards residential or industrial property and has a mean mortgage dimension of about Rs 18 lakh. Round 80% of the portfolio is in Tier-3 areas and past.
The corporate additionally operates GROx, an embedded service provider finance platform that gives working capital to kirana shops, agricultural-input sellers, pharmaceutical distributors and different nano enterprises. The common mortgage dimension on the platform is about Rs 1 lakh.
UGRO Capital’s Social Impression Report for 2024-25, verified by Dun & Bradstreet India, maps its portfolio to eight United Nations Sustainable Growth Objectives.
These cowl respectable work and financial development, business and infrastructure, decreased inequalities, gender equality, reasonably priced and clear vitality, well being and well-being, clear water and sanitation, and high quality training.