Branch International Secures Debt Financing from Cauris to Expand Financial Inclusion in India
Branch International (“Branch”), a leading provider of mobile-based financial services in emerging markets, has entered into a senior secured credit facility with Cauris, Inc. (“Cauris”). Cauris is a global private credit investment firm that promotes financial inclusion. The partnership will help Branch expand in India.
Website
Geography
India, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania
Description
Over 25 million people have downloaded Branch’s app across India, Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania. Branch focuses on markets where credit access is challenging due to lack of credit history, collateral and other factors required by traditional banks. Branch pioneered applying machine learning to smartphone data to determine creditworthiness and provide loan access where conventional bank measures fall short. In addition to loans, Branch is now becoming a full service digital bank in each market, offering a mix of new products ranging from investments to free credit score checks to free p2p payments, free bill payment and more.
Branch launched in India in February 2019. It was amongst the first fintechs to gain Reserve Bank of India approval for a branchless NBFC license. India is believed to have the second-largest unbanked population worldwide, with an estimated 190 million adults having no bank account.
“We’re excited to live and work in a time when technology can meaningfully expand global financial inclusion and financial health. Our partnership with Cauris moves Branch closer towards a vision of making world class financial services available for everyone, everywhere,” said Premal Shah, Chief Business Officer of Branch.
“Branch has been visionary in its approach to addressing the tremendous untapped opportunity for mobile financial services in India,” said Azer Songnaba, Chief Investment Officer of Cauris. “We are excited to provide the required liquidity to promote the company’s long-term success in India as we seek to utilize DeFi to target the immense emerging markets liquidity gap.”
About Branch International
Branch International, founded in San Francisco in 2015, delivers world-class financial services to the mobile generation. With offices in San Francisco, Lagos, Nairobi, Mumbai and Bangalore, Branch is a for-profit socially conscious company that uses the power of data science to reduce the cost of delivering financial services in emerging markets. Branch believes that everyone, everywhere deserves fair financial access. Since its creation, Branch has originated over $500 million in loans to over 4 million borrowers. The company is the first fintech to get a branchless NBFC license in India and has raised over $270M in debt and equity from reputable investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Visa and the World Bank. For more information, please visit https://branch.co.
About Cauris
Cauris is a global private credit investment firm that partners with emerging financial technology companies worldwide. Cauris’ mission is to drive financial inclusion by helping small and medium businesses, as well as consumers, across the Global South to scale, an effort that the World Bank currently estimates will require $5.2TN in financing to accomplish. Cauris believes this is key to empowering individuals and enabling economic growth in emerging and frontier markets. Cauris currently provides financing in India, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. For more information, please visit www.caurisfinance.com.
