Accion Venture Lab Completes First Successful Exit in India-Based Lender Varthana, Generating Financial and Social Returns
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Accion Venture Lab, the seed-stage investment vehicle of financial inclusion leader Accion, announced today that it has successfully exited an investment for the first time. Venture Lab has sold its stake in Varthana, a company providing specialized loans and support to affordable private schools in India, promoting access to and the quality of education for India’s poor and emerging middle class.
Venture Lab led the first institutional investment round in Varthana in May 2013. As of August 2016, with Venture Lab’s active support, Varthana has supported more than 2,000 schools, 38,000 teachers, and one million students, and has disbursed more than $35 millionto schools that serve lower and middle income Indians.
“Varthana has reached great heights as an innovative financial services operator in India, and we are honored to have been a part of the company’s success since the beginning,” said Venture Lab Managing Director Vikas Raj. “Since we invested, Varthana has been able to demonstrate the viability of its unique sector-focused approach, attract significant additional external funding, and ultimately, advance its mission to increase access to quality education for students across India.”
This spring, Varthana succeeded in raising a substantial $14 million Series B financing round.
Source: PR News Wire (link opens in a new window)
- Categories
- Uncategorized
