• Veritas Finance is a specialized lender to the MSME segment
• Has built a credible loan portfolio of Rs.1750 Crores in about 6 years
• The funds would be utilized to penetrate deeper into existing markets in India

Chennai:  Veritas Finance Private Limited (Veritas Finance), Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) focused on lending to micro, small, medium enterprise (MSME) with presence in eight states and one union territory today announced that it has raised Rs.440 Crores of primary investment through a Series F round led by existing investors Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), Kedaara Captial and Caspian with support from new investors namely Evolvence India Fund III Limited (Evolvence India), Growth Catalyst Partners LLC (GCP).

The company, which has managed the COVID crisis well, is poised for further growth and proposes to use the additional capital to further penetrate existing markets.

Promoted in 2015 by D. Arulmany, Veritas Finance has since created a loan book of more than Rs.1750 Crores, having a customer base of over 60,000 present across eight states and one union territory with over 218 branches backed by 2402 employees.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. D. Arulmany, MD & CEO, Veritas Finance said, “The company has handled the COVID crisis which hit the MSME segment well and is today well positioned to scale up the volumes significantly. The informal micro enterprises of the MSME segment in the rural areas which are the core focus segment of the organization has shown tremendous resilience during COVID and have demonstrated excellent repayment culture, despite enormous challenges during the last fifteen months.”

Having crossed Rs.1750 Crores of loan book in a short span of six years and managed successive challenges in the form of demonetization, liquidity crisis and COVID I & II, Veritas Finance today has emerged stronger and is ready to scale new heights.  The current capital raise will help Veritas to penetrate deeper and expand to new geographies to pursue high growth, while insulating the organization from any further shock waves or disturbances.

Our existing investors Norwest and Kedaara Capital have reposed confidence in the business model and our execution capabilities and have led the round which has participation from GCP and Evolvence India. 

The current capital will place the organization strongly to build a loan book of Rs.4000 crores in the next 12 months.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shiv Chaudhary, Managing Director of Norwest Venture Partners, India said, “We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with Veritas Finance. The business continues to demonstrate strong execution, great team culture with a vision to become one of India’s leading retail NBFCs. The Company has invested in the right building blocks to enable scale with a high degree of corporate governance, technological prowess and institutionalization.”

Talking about the investment, Mr. Nishant Sharma, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and Managing Partner of Kedaara Capital and Parin Mehta, Managing Director of Kedaara Capital said, “We are delighted to deepen our commitment to Veritas Finance in this round. Veritas Finance has been able to navigate the tough market conditions admirably driven by the strength of its people and culture. This capital raise is an affirmation of Veritas Finance’s resilient operating model and robust risk management and will position it well to continue on its scaling journey deepening its footprint”

Speaking on the investment, Mr. Rohit Batra, Partner and Abhishek Chandra, Principal of Evolvence India said, “We are strong believers in Veritas Finance’s business model that bridges the large credit gap that exists for the under-banked MSME space in India. The strength of the founder and management team has allowed the company the ability to grow profitably through multiple cycles (including Covid) creating a successful lending franchise. We are excited to partner with Veritas in their journey ahead.”

Talking about the Series F funding, Ms. Priyamvada Ramkumar, Partner, Lok Advisory Services, the Investment Manager of Growth Catalyst Partners LLC said, “Veritas Finance has reaffirmed our faith in the company as a stellar organisation built on strong foundations. They have steered through unprecedented times without compromising on their core values and emerged stronger for it. We are proud to further our partnership with Veritas Finance through this investment”.

In this regard, Mr. Venky Natarajan, Co-Founder & Partner at Lok Capital said “Under Arul’s able guidance, complemented by a seasoned leadership team, Veritas Finance has grown from strength to strength. As early investors in the company, we are proud of both the velocity and the quality of growth in the company. We are confident that Veritas Finance will be the leading player in the Small Business Financing space in the future”