GreenCell Mobility raises Rs 800 crore from IFCI, BII and Tata Capital

Eversource Capital-backed electric bus operator GreenCell Mobility has raised $89 million (Rs 800 crore) in mezzanine funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), British International Investment (BII) and Tata Capital to support the expansion of its operations across India, said its managing director and chief executive Devndra Chawla.

Mezzanine funding is a hybrid form of financing that blends debt and equity, offering lenders higher returns with greater risk than traditional loans but less risk than equity.

“The capital will support the expansion of GreenCell’s fleet and charging infrastructure under programmes such as PM Seva E-Mobility,” Chawla said.


Mumbai-based GreenCell Mobility has an asset-owning and operations-led model under which it procures electric buses from manufacturers and owns the vehicles. The company is responsible for end-to-end operations, including fleet deployment, driver management, charging and maintenance over the life of the buses.

The newly raised capital will be used to increase the fleet to around 3,700 buses,

These contracts span several regions, including Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Companies such as GreenCell Mobility primarily works with state transport undertakings and urban local bodies through long-term contracts, typically structured as gross cost contracts. Under this arrangement, transport authorities pay a fixed fee per kilometre, while fare collection remains with the public agency. The structure is intended to provide predictable costs for governments while transferring operational and maintenance responsibilities to the private operator.

As Indian states and cities move to electrify public transport fleets, privately operated models that combine capital investment with long-term operating contracts are gaining traction.