Zephyr Peacock, Omidyar Network invest Rs 100 crore in Swarna Pragati

MUMBAI: Bengaluru-based private equity funds Zephyr Peacock and Omidyar Network have picked up about 15 per cent stake in housing microfinance firm Swarna Pragati for about Rs 100 crore, people close to the development said.

New Delhi-based Swarna Pragati focuses on the bottom of the pyramid and gives loans of between Rs 2 lakh to 7 lakh for affordable housing segment. It also provides loans of Rs 15,000-25,000 for making toilets and digging wells among other things in rural and semi urban areas. The company defines these loans as water, sanitation and hygiene loans.

Intellecap Impact Investment Network, or I3N, Aavishkaar Goodwill Fund II and some high net-worth individuals too have invested in Swarna Pragati.

ET could not verify the exact percentage picked up by the two PE firms, Aavishkaar Goodwill II, I3N and the HNIs. Sources, however, said the PE firms may have picked up substantially higher stake than the other investors.

"We hope to replicate the business model of operating in rural India across length and breadth of the country," said Swarna Pragati founder A Ramesh Kumar.

"Our aim is to provide easy access to finance so that basic needs like housing and hygiene of the people in rural areas could be addressed," said Kumar, a former chief general manager with SBI and an old hand in the microfinance sector.

Till November end Swarna Pragati had a portfolio of Rs 85 crore and had a customer base of 8,700.