Northern Arc, a diversified financial services platform, is delighted to announce an investment of $80 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. The investment comprises an equal split of equity and debt, each contributing ~$40 million, demonstrating IFC’s confidence in Northern Arc’s scalable and sustainable business model and India’s expanding credit market.

Northern Arc has a proven track record of consistent and resilient performance, and has achieved consistent growth in its business and financial performance as well as demonstrated resilience through various business cycles and events.

Ashish Mehrotra, Managing Director and CEO of Northern Arc, commented on the funding, stating, "This investment from IFC is a strong endorsement from a large global multilateral to our mission of enabling credit to the underserved and unserved people in India. The investment marks the beginning of a long term relationship with IFC and other multi laterals who believe in the India story and Northern Arc playing an instrumental role in India’s growth story through financial inclusion."

The capital from IFC’s funding will support the expansion of Northern Arc’s reach to end customers, fostering social impact through improved credit access to customers across its focused sectors.

"Financial inclusion is crucial for eradicating poverty and fostering prosperity. IFC continues to work with private sector partners to enhance access to finance for underserved communities, especially retail-level women-led MSMEs,” said Wendy Werner, IFC India Country Head. “Our partnership with Northern Arc is a key component of our strategy to harness private sector expertise and finance in reaching millions of MSMEs and mid-market companies through innovative products."

As of September 30, 2023, Northern Arc has facilitated financing of over INR 1.5 trillion in credit through its technology platform using data insights derived from a large data repository and domain expertise, underscoring its role in the financial ecosystem. Northern Arc through its multi-channel approach of lending, placement and fund management focuses on increasing the supply of credit.