SKS India Raises Largest Private Equity Investment Ever

SKS Microfinance Pvt. Ltd. announced the closure of a fourth round of equity funding in which it has raised US$75 million (INR 3.66 billion). The transaction, led by Sandstone Capital, represents the largest private equity investment to date in microfinance globally. Based in Hyderabad in India, SKS has provided microinsurance products and US$ 979 Million of microloans to 3.3 million poor households across 18 states in 50,000 villages and urban slums of India. Its members have maintained a 99% repayment rate. The new equity investment will help SKS expand its outreach to 8 million members over the next two years.

Commenting on the investment, Vikram Akula, Founder and CEO of SKS Microfinance said, "the fact that this investment has come during the global economic meltdown is proof of the confidence that investors have in SKS - and more importantly of the resilience and entrepreneurial abilities of the poor not only to survive in today’s economic crisis but actually to prosper because the poor are largely de-coupled from global trends."

Sandstone Capital led the investment and was joined by existing SKS investors Kismet Capital and SVB India Capital Partners. Sequoia Capital, Vinod Khosla, SIDBI, Unitus and Columbia Ventures Corporation are among the existing equity partners of SKS Microfinance. SKS Borrowers represented by Mutual Benefit Trusts are also one of the largest shareholder groups in the company.

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