Ratan Tata
Founder
Avanti - Financial Inclusion For 100 Million
The startup develops a digital financial inclusion platform that provides microfinance loan access through an open-access digital model and cashless interface. It addresses the lack of loan access for underserved populations by offering tailored loan products and capital to third parties, enabling sustainable livelihoods and local economic growth.
- Digital Health
- Financial Technology
- Software Only
Updated 6 months ago
Funding
Raised to date
$81.2MRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Funding rounds are not available yet.
Founders
Nandan Nilekani
Co-Founder
Product
Problem
Millions of households in rural and semi-urban areas lack access to affordable financial services due to high operational costs associated with traditional brick-and-mortar microfinance institutions and the difficulty of assessing credit risk in data-scarce environments. This lack of access limits opportunities for livelihood expansion and economic advancement for underserved populations, particularly women.
Solution
Avanti Finance provides a digital financial inclusion platform that leverages a "presenceless, paperless, and cashless" approach to deliver microloans to underserved populations. The platform connects diverse capital pools with end-users through a network of partners, enabling customized, cashflow-based loan products tailored to specific livelihood activities. By crowdsourcing data from local communities and utilizing a digital architecture, Avanti reduces operational costs and improves risk assessment, facilitating sustainable livelihood expansion and economic growth for borrowers. The platform's open-access API allows partners to create and deploy financial products in a touchless manner.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes underserved households, particularly women in rural and semi-urban areas, who are engaged in livelihood value chain activities and lack access to traditional financial services. Avanti also targets partner organizations involved in financial inclusion and livelihood promotion.
Features
- Hyperlocal product development through partner collaboration, ensuring customization at scale.
- Digital end-to-end loan journey, eliminating paperwork and manual processes.
- API-driven architecture enabling rapid deployment of capital for various purposes, including priority sector lending and geographical expansion.
- Cashless transactions with multiple digital repayment alternatives.
- Crowdsourced data from local communities to build trust scores for data-dark customers.
- Livelihood-centric loan products designed to support and expand borrowers' income-generating activities.