Aye Finance Raises Rs 310 Cr from BII, Others

Mumbai, Dec 13 (PTI) Small businesses-focused lender Aye Finance on Wednesday announced a Rs 310 crore fundraise in a round led by British International Investment (BII).

The fundraise, which also saw participation from Waterfield Fund of Funds and existing shareholder A91 Partners, takes the overall quantum of money raised by the 2014-incorporated entity to Rs 1,000 crore.

Primarily focused on serving the micro enterprises, the company has disbursed Rs 8,000 crore in loans till now, and claimed to have gotten 7 lakh unorganized businesses into the formal lending ecosystem.

In the first half of 2023-24 ended September, the company's net profit stood at Rs 80 crore, while the assets under management were Rs 3,600 crore.

BII's director financial services Gaurav Malhotra said only 11 per cent of the micro enterprises, who constitute a part of the overall MSME universe of 64 million have access to formal credit and the infusion is an attempt to bridge the gap.

"We believe there is immense potential in lending to underserved microenterprises and the fresh capital will provide a strong fillip to our compounding story," the company's co-founder, managing director and chief executive Sanjay Sharma said.