An investment unit of Citigroup entered the latest round backing Janalakhsmi Financial Services (JFS), a Bangalore-based microfinance company, helping it reportedly raise more than $14m.
Citi Venture Capital International (CVCI) joined the Series C round alongside existing investors in the company, Janalakhsmi said in a statement, although this did not disclose the amount raised. The round was worth 650m rupees ($14.4m), according to news provider Reuters, taking the amount raised in the company’s history to slightly more than 1bn rupees.
Investors in Janalakshmi’s earlier rounds were venture capital firms Bellwether and Lok Capital, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the charitable investor, Treeline Investors, an investment firm, and Narayan Ramachandran, former country head of Morgan Stanley India.
Sunil Nair, CVCI head for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India, said, "CVCI is pleased to partner JFS in its vision of enabling financial inclusion in urban India on a commercially sustainable basis. We believe that the investment from CVCI would enable JFS to scale up operations. We are enthused by the commitment of the professional management team at JFS to build a business with significant social benefits and high levels of transparency."