Microfinance Firm Of Billionaire Kumar Birla’s Daughter Is Now India’s Second Largest After Acquisition

Commodities tycoon Kumar Mangalam Birla’s 29-year-old daughter, Ananya Birla, who began microfinance firm Svatantra Microfin when she was simply 17, accomplished the acquisition of rival Chaitanya India Fin Credit score (owned by Indian billionaire Sachin Bansal) final week.

The Chaitanya deal made Svatantra the second-largest participant amongst microfinance establishments underneath the non-banking finance firm (NBFC) banner when it comes to property underneath administration, which is able to now contact 130 billion rupees ($1.6 billion).

“We’re gunning for the No. 1 place now,” she famous in a tweet proper after the acquisition. Ananya appeared on the Forbes Asia Ladies to Watch record in 2016.

Publicly-traded, Bangalore-based CreditAccess Grameen is the No. 1 participant with $2.7 billion in property underneath administration as of September 30, 2023 – within the $43 billion (whole mortgage portfolio as of Could 31, 2023) Indian microfinance trade, which serves 70 million debtors throughout India.

“Svatantra Microfin buying Sachin Bansal’s Chaitanya is a constructive information each for the microfinance sector and Svatantra,” says Alok Misra, CEO of microfinance trade physique MFIN India. “The acquisition is synergistic because it offers Svatantra strategic outreach in South India. Whereas Svatantra is understood for its environment friendly operations and accountable lending, larger measurement will additional strengthen it as additionally contribute to larger effectivity by economies of scale.”

Ananya included Svatantra (which implies “freedom” in Sanskrit) in 2012 and began operations in 2013 providing small loans to rural ladies entrepreneurs.

It went from 280 branches in April 2019 to 500 branches in November 2020 to greater than 800 by Could 2023. After the 14.8 billion rupees acquisition, it’ll have greater than 1,500 branches throughout 20 states and 124 billion rupees in property underneath administration serving 3.6 million clients.

The first differentiator for Svatantra is its 100% cashless disbursements.

“It’s surreal to look again during the last decade,” she mentioned within the tweet. “Svatantra was the very first firm that I based with a imaginative and prescient to offer monetary companies to each girl in each nook of Bharat, to financial institution the unbanked.”

In 2018, she took over Micro Housing Finance Corp. (MHFC) for 3 billion rupees to offer housing finance companies to underserved low-income city clients. It operates on a branchless mannequin.

The fifth era scion of the Birla clan is the eldest of Kumar Birla’s three kids. Ananya, who has an undergraduate diploma in economics and administration from Oxford College, additionally cofounded psychological well being initiative Mpower, alongside together with her mom Neerja Birla.

Ananya – who additionally composes and sings pop music (she launched her first track, “Livin’ the Life,” in November 2017) — joined the boards of Aditya Birla Group’s flagship Grasim Industries and Aditya Birla Style and Retail earlier this 12 months.

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