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March 28, 2006 |
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Vinod Khosla Leads Historic Rs. 11 crores ($2.5 million)
Investment in SKS Microfinance
Largest Microfinance Investment in India to Date
Hyderabad, India � Vinod Khosla,
along with other social venture capitalists, the Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and SKS� borrower community, made
a Rs. 11 crores ($2.5 million) investment in SKS Microfinance today.
The deal is the largest-ever investment in any microfinance
institution in India. SKS, whose mission is to provide financial
services to the poor, will use the investment to access commercial
debt and scale outreach from its current base of 200,000 clients to
700,000 clients in 2006-07.
�I am impressed with the people and processes at SKS and am
confident that this investment will enable them to serve even more
poor families throughout the country,� said Khosla.
Of the Rs. 11 crores ($2.5 million) investment, Khosla has
contributed Rs. 2.1 crores ($470,000) while technology entrepreneurs
Ravi Reddy and Sandeep Tungare, co-founders of Vistaar Technologies,
have contributed a combined Rs. 2.1 crores ($470,000). The Unitus
Equity Fund (UEF) also invested Rs 2.1 crores ($470,000). The UEF is
managed by a subsidiary of Unitus, a Redmond, Washington-based
global microfinance accelerator. In addition, SKS borrowers have
increased their current investment from Rs 2 crores ($450,000) to Rs
6.5 crores ($1.5 million) and the SIDBI has expanded its current
investment from Rs. 50 lakhs ($112,000) to Rs. 1 crore ($225,000).
�SKS is on the cutting edge of microfinance, deploying
state-of-the-art technologies to reduce operational and transaction
costs. This approach will enable SKS to serve its clients more
effectively and achieve its ambitious goals,� remarked Reddy, a
supporter of SKS since its inception in 1998.
�SKS is an industry leader in financial transparency, innovation and
rapid growth�they are exactly the type of partner we want to build
strong relationships with,� said Geoff Davis, President and CEO of
Unitus.
SKS CEO, Vikram Akula, noted, �We are delighted to have these
world-class investors join SKS. They bring deep knowledge of how to
scale companies and SKS will benefit tremendously from the skills
and experience they have.� |
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