NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

French public entity Agence Française de Développement Group’s private sector financing arm, Proparco, which had earlier backed a host of microfinance institutions including Annapurna Finance, Northern Arc, JK Paper and Sonata Finance, among others, has now invested in another Indian microlender to further push for women entrepreneurship.

Proparco has infused debt capital of $15 million (around Rs 122.7 crore) in Mumbai-based Svatantra Microfin Pvt Ltd, a firm promoted by Ananya Birla, the daughter of Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla.