Avanse Financial Services Ltd. (Avanse), India’s new age, technologically sophisticated, education-focused non-banking financial company (NBFC), announced today that Kedaara Capital, a premier private equity firm, will invest $800 million in the company to fuel its robust long-term expansion. The funds will be used to increase its visibility and outreach to a larger number of eligible Indian students, allowing them to pursue academic goals and contributing to the overall development of the Indian education environment. Warburg Pincus remains Avanse’s majority shareholder.
Avanse has been on a rapid development trajectory, playing a pivotal role in the education financing industry. The company’s AUM is 8,000 Cr. as of December 2022, representing a 1.9x increase over the same period last fiscal year. Avanse experienced the highest-ever growth in loan disbursement of 4,850 Cr. during 9MFY2023, generating 2.5x growth over the same period last year. As a student-centric organisation, Avanse has fulfilled the educational goals of over 3 lakh academic aspirants in over 50 nations through 3,000+ institutes and 25,000+ courses. In addition, the corporation supplied growth and working financing to over 1000 educational institutes serving over 5-6 lakh students.
Amit Gainda, Managing Director & CEO, Avanse Financial Services, said, “While Warburg Pincus & IFC continue to be supportive partners in our journey, we are now delighted to have Kedaara Capital on board. Avanse is at an exciting phase of growth as we continue to fulfil our mission of providing education financing to students passionate about accessing high-quality education. As the world recovered post the pandemic, we witnessed a significant resurgence of students seeking higher education at international locations. We have responded with agility, leveraging technology to develop customised financing solutions to address unique student demands. The growth capital will enable us to strengthen our brand proposition, integrate digital solutions and innovate to build more depth into our product range as we work towards delivering greater stakeholder value.”
Narendra Ostawal, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus & Non-Executive Director, Avanse Board, said, “Avanse has remained true to its commitment of fulfilling the right to quality education. The team led by Amit has delivered commendable performance over the last three years as India navigated through the pandemic. The Indian education finance segment is witnessing strong secular growth, and we look forward to providing continued support to Amit and his team towards achieving their goal of democratising education and education financing.”
Commenting on the investment, Sunish Sharma, Managing Partner and Co-CEO, Kedaara Capital said, “Kedaara is very excited to partner with Amit and the management team and support Avanse’s continued evolution. We look forward to using our operational expertise and experience in the financial services space to help them realise their long-term vision.”
Kartikeya Kaji, Managing Director, Kedaara Capital added, “The fresh primary infusion will significantly improve the company’s capitalisation, providing a strong base for future growth.”
Avendus Capital served as the transaction’s sole financial advisor, while AZB & Partners represented the Company and Warburg Pincus served as legal counsel. Kedaara Capital’s legal counsel was Khaitan & Co.
