source : Your story.com
Varthana, a Bengaluru-based NBFC, has secured ₹75 crore (around $8.7 Million) in a fresh round of debt funding, issuing 75,000 non-convertible debentures (NCDs) at ₹10,000 apiece. OfBusiness, a B2B e-commerce platform, and its financial services arm Oxyzo, led the round, each contributing ₹27.5 crore. The balance of ₹20 crore was from other institutional investors like Ambium Finserve and IKF Finance.
Founded in 2013 by Brajesh Mishra and Steve Hardgrave, Varthana has set its sights on supporting India’s affordable private education sector. The NBFC structures customised financial solutions for budget private schools and low-income students enabling them to expand their infrastructure, improve education quality and get access to better learning opportunities. The new round of funding will enhance Varthana’s ability to lend and allow it to expand into new geographies.
It provides collateral-free loans to private schools with flexible repayment options as well as education loans up to ₹5 lakh for undergraduate, post-graduate and vocational course students. Its products are aimed at bridging the funding gap for companies and individuals that are often not able to get access to conventional bank credit, due to an absence of formal financial paperwork or security.
Varthana has been growing well over the years. In Fiscal Year 2025, company’s loan book expanded 48% Year over year- ₹1,896 crore As per the company, this new round of funding will be targeted towards proposal of 50% of the loan book over the next three years, as it seeks to grow to 100,000 loans disbursed by March 2026 Varthana currently operates across 15 states and 40 cities in India and says it has supported over 11,500 private schools and disbursed over 75,000 loans since inception.
This comes on the back of ₹120 crore raise from debt from BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund, a global impact investor, in December 2024. It has raised more than $130 million over the years in a combination of equity and debt from investors, such as ChrysCapital and Accion.
The new funding round states Investors going along with a strong belief in Varthana’s business model and its healthy mission that is working to fight the financial gap in the education ecosystem. With increasing demand in India for affordable and quality education, Varthana is well-positioned to become an essential key financing the future and betterment of education in india
