With SME-focussed fintech lender NeoGrowth, Proparco supports the development of MSMEs in India
published on 12 September 2019
Through a $17 million loan granted to the Indian fintech lender NeoGrowth Credit Pvt. Ltd. (NeoGrowth), Proparco will support an innovative financial services player supporting small businesses across the country.
In spite of their crucial role in the national economy, Indian small business owners, such as shopkeepers or restaurant owners, face great difficulties securing credit, which significantly impacts their ability to invest, to hire and to grow.
Founded in 2012, NeoGrowth is an Indian Non-banking Financial Company and a pioneer in facilitating access to credit for micro, small and medium enterprises basis underwriting of digital payments data.
NeoGrowth’s key innovation comes from its ability to provide collateral-free credit thanks to the analysis of the borrower’s credit-worthiness based on their credit-card or online payments (real-time transaction data), a method also known as “Merchant Cash Advance”.
Its ability to reach previously unserved MSMEs through this innovative method is demonstrated by its current portfolio of supported companies.
Proparco’s funding will further support NeoGrowth’s development and will help it reach an increasing number of MSMEs across the country. About 28,000 small businesses should benefit from this operation in the next five years, supporting more than 4,000 jobs overall.
This operation is thus fully in line with Proparco’s commitment to supporting access to finance, in particular of MSMEs, and innovative actors in developing countries and emerging economies.
