Sewa Grih Rin raises $20 million in Norway-based NMI led funding round

14 Jul 2022 , 02:17 PM

Sewa Grih Rin Ltd, a housing finance provider in Indonesia, has raised $20 million in funding led by Norway’s Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) and Women’s World Bank Asset Management.

Existing investors HDFC Holdings, Oikocredit, and Omidyar Network Fund joined the round as well.

The funds will be used to expand the company’s loan book, digitize its offerings, and expand operations in Odisha, Jharkhand, and other states.

The startup currently has 36 branches across eight states, including Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Haryana.

Sewa Grih Rin, founded in 2015 by Shruti Gonsalves, provides loans ranging from Rs1 lakh to Rs30 lakh for house construction, extension, purchase, and renovation exclusively for low-income households, particularly women in urban and rural areas.

“We intend to assist approximately 7,000 families in the current fiscal year by disbursing approximately $63 million and, as a result, achieve a book size of $97 million in FY23,” Gonsalves commented.

The equity funding will be used to help the startup hire more supervisory and senior management talent.

Sewa Grih Rin has $46 million in assets under management (AUM) and approximately 15,000 customers.

The startup’s business model combines lending and social impact, catering to informal housing tenure or incomplete property documentation, and assisting potential customers in making the property title legally executable.

Since its inception, the company has raised $34 million.

Oikocredit, Omidyar Network India, HDFC Life Insurance, HDFC Holdings, and Women’s World Banking contributed around $10 million to Sitara in 2019.