MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

   Kshama Fernandes

Access to finance is empowering and can be a powerful tool to help individuals and enterprises at the bottom of the pyramid emerge out of their circumstances.  IFMR Capital was setup a decade ago by a group of individuals who decided to change the world.  The ambition was to create an institution that would provide access to finance for unbanked/underbanked individuals and businesses in an economically sustainable and scalable manner.

In 2008, institutions operating in these spaces depended on grants and foundation money. We believed there was value in creating a flow of mainstream debt capital to these sectors.  The difference between charity and a loan was that of giving someone a fish versus teaching them how to fish.  We believed in the power of the latter.

Lending to those who had little to offer as security or collateral was a challenge for most institutions.  Microfinance, Small Business Loans Finance, Affordable Housing Finance, Used Commercial Vehicle Finance, Agriculture Finance were  sectors that served the bottom of the pyramid but faced the typical challenges of scaling up due to lack of access to debt. Bank lending to these sectors was present but came with its own challenges around effective delivery.

We stepped into this very challenging space a decade ago and decided to play the role of a risk intermediary between informal sectors and mainstream capital markets.  The company began to identify, nurture and provide debt to high quality institutions lending in the informal spaces. Backed by its own diligence and funding to these entities, the company began to connect these entities to capital markets players such as mutual funds, insurance companies, NBFCs, international impact funds, HNIs and so on. The Company effectively used its own capital plus its knowledge of structured finance to create interesting pioneering risk-return structures that met the needs of both – its client institutions and its investors.  In doing so, it created a market in India that didn’t exist hitherto.

Over the last decade, the Company has enabled USD 7 billion dollars of financing for institutions and individuals in the unbanked and underbanked space.  It works with hundreds of clients institutions and investors across the length and breadth of finance.  It continues to have deep belief in the credit-worthiness of its clients and continues to invest in its own capital in these sectors before taking them to market.  Through its investments, the Company has portfolio in 29 states and across 540 districts of India. It is backed by reputed investors such Dvara Trust, LeapFrog, Eight Roads and Standard Chartered PE.  Our team of professionals work ceaselessly towards building access to finance for all,  inspired and driven by the difference they make to the lives of the 33 million underserved clients through our partners.

The new name is inspired by an ancient trade route that connected the East to the West.  It was the first contact between the old world and the new world.   It went over mountains, valleys, rivers and rapids.  It allowed traders along its length to establish a direct prosperous trade.  It transformed the economic landscape of every geography it passed through. It was the new frontier!

Our new name and brand signifies access, change, breaking of barriers, freedom, growth and prosperity for all.