AVANA Companies, a private credit platform with over 23 years of experience in commercial lending, expanded into India after receiving Certificate of Registration (CoR) for a non-deposit taking Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) license from the Reserve Bank of India, for its wholly owned subsidiary LendThrive Finance Private. The company has opened a regional office in Pune, India and plans to launch direct commercial lending operations to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India within the next six months.
AVANA has committed an initial capitalization of $1.5 million to meet license requirements and plans to invest another $20 million to grow the business, with a total investment goal of $25 million over three years.
“India represents a tremendous opportunity for AVANA Companies to extend our mission of providing capital that fuels entrepreneurship, job creation, and sustainable growth across borders,” Sundip Patel, CEO and co-founder of AVANA, said. “As an entrepreneur with Indian heritage, I’ve seen firsthand how access to capital transforms businesses and communities. This expansion allows us to bring our relationship-driven lending approach to a country where family businesses and entrepreneurs drive the economy, creating meaningful impact in communities across India.”
Within this landscape, AVANA sees strong potential in India’s hospitality sector.
“Small business owners are the heartbeat of India’s economy, driving innovation and creating jobs in communities across the country,” Patel said. “By combining our tech-enabled lending approach with our impact-first philosophy, we see tremendous opportunity to improve access to capital for these entrepreneurs, unlocking their fuller potential. We see the faces behind these businesses and understand their aspirations go beyond balance sheets.”
AVANA will launch lending operations from its Pune headquarters within six months, with regional expansion to other key cities, including Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and New Delhi in the future. AVANA recently hired Siddharth Purandare, former head of SME business at Edelweiss Financial Services, as managing director for India operations.
