Northern Arc Capital Raises $50 Mn Via ECB Funds will be used to meet the twofold challenge, an initiative by global DFIs to promote gender lens investing
By Prabhjeet Bhatla •
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Chennai-headquartered digital debt platform Northern Arc Capital on Tuesday announced that it has successfully concluded a $50 million external commercial borrowing (ECB) transaction with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). JICA is Japan's governmental agency that works towards promoting economic and social growth in developing countries.
"This transaction is proof of Northern Arc's ability to forge partnerships with and attract funding from reputed global DFIs. We are excited to partner with JICA to further our mission of catering to the diverse credit requirements of underserved households and businesses. The usage of proceeds will be towards promoting women entrepreneurship and employment, an important target area for the company," said Kshama Fernandes, managing director, and chief executive officer, Northern Arc Capital while commenting on the ECB transaction.
The establishment will use the proceeds to cater to the credit demands of women borrowers or towards products that disproportionately benefit women. Coming from the backdrop of COVID-19, the transaction is expected to alleviate the social and economic impact of the pandemic.
"Northern Arc Capital is a unique and important financial institution that supports funding of the Indian NBFC sector, which plays a key role in promoting financial inclusion in India. We expect more Indian women to have access to financial services through this partnership with Northern Arc. Also, we are delighted that this loan is our first co-financing with USDFC in India," added Keiichiro Nakazawa, senior vice president, JICA.
Since 2009, Northern Arc has been said to have enabled financing for Originator Partners who have impacted over 54.21 million lives across India, of which more than 42 million were women. As of December 31, 2020, more than 75 per cent of the total underlying borrowers of the platform's Originator Partners are comprised of women. Since the onset of the COVID pandemic, the debt platform has raised funds from reputed international investors including USDFC, ADB, FMO, and Calvert Impact Capital, the platform said in a statement.
