Milaap Social Ventures, an Indian impact-focused fundraising platform, raised an additional USD$1.1m in venture funding.
The round was led by Singapore based Jungle Ventures, with participation from Toivo Annus, Lionrock Capital, Jayesh Parekh as well as existing investor Unitus Seed Fund (read here). In conjunction with the investment, Hari Kumar, Partner, Lion Rock Capital and Jayesh Parekh, Managing Partner, Jungle Ventures and previously Board member of Song Investment Management Company (a fund owned by Soros Economic Development Fund, Omidyar Network and Google) joined the Board.
The company intends to use the funds to expand engineering and marketing investments for enhancing the online product experience, and to invest in scaling up marketing efforts.
Co-founded by Sourabh Sharma, CEO, Anoj Viswanathan, President, and Mayukh Choudhury, Milaap Social Ventures is an online lending platform for borrowers living in the rural and semi-urban areas who are outside of the formal banking system who need money for their small businesses, vocational training, or other essential household assets. To date, the company has raised over US$800,000 in loans for people across 10 states in India, for a range of needs such as better school infrastructure, employment-linked training for the youth, seed capital for small businesses, access to clean water & sanitation, and safe lighting for families.
FinSMEs
03/07/2013