LeapFrog invests in IFMR Capital

CHENNAI: LeapFrog Investments, the specialist investor in financial services in growth markets Africa and Asia, has announced a $29-million investment into India’s IFMR Capital.
The deal is the first to be made from LeapFrog’s Fund II. A key focus of the partnership will be to leverage IFMR Capital’s structuring expertise, reach and relationships across financial products and sectors in India.
“The demand for financial springboards and safety nets in India is growing fast, on a very large scale; IFMR Capital recognized this need early.In a short time, they have built a high road between the capital markets and the institutions and India’s emerging middle class; we look forward to working with them now to create a financial highway,” Dr Jim Roth, co-founder of LeapFrog Investments, said.
“The participation of LeapFrog significantly strengthens our ability to work with a much larger number of originators across asset classes in the coming years and make access to financial services a reality for millions of low-income households in India,” Bindu Ananth, president, IFMR Trust, said.
Acting as a bridge between capital markets and high quality financial institutions that reach underserved households and businesses, IFMR Capital operates in over 345 districts across 24 states in India.
Today, these institutions deliver credit, insurance and other financial services to over 6.6 million active borrowers and 7.6 million insured customers.
The 30-million micro, small and medium–sized enterprises in India today account for 45% of Indian industrial output, yet only 5-10% has access to formal sources of funding.
The market for financing such enterprises is expected to grow from US$ 1.5 billion to $6.35 billion by 2020. The total affordable housing shortage in India today represents a financing requirement of $185 billion.