Rural fintech firm Navadhan has secured ₹111 crore in a Series A funding round led by NabVentures, the venture capital arm of NABARD.

The company plans to strategically use the funds to enhance its AceN tech platform and drive business growth. “We have a very calibrated growth plan in terms of what we want to do with the money,” said Nitin Agrawal, Founder of Navadhan. “This platform is critical to serve rural small businesses, helping them access working capital loans through partnerships with banks and NBFCs. Our focus will be on expanding the platform, adding more partners, deepening our presence in existing geographies, and diversifying our loan offerings.”

Navadhan has already disbursed ₹500 crore in loans, backed by ₹700 crore in debt lines from 27 banks and NBFCs. The fintech firm has positioned itself as a key enabler for banks seeking to reach underserved MSMEs. “Banks want to serve this segment, but it is difficult to reach small MSMEs. That’s where we step in,” Agrawal said. The company’s loans qualify as priority sector lending, making them more attractive to financial institutions.

Despite a challenging year for the retail lending space, Navadhan has sustained strong growth, expanding 12x in three years while maintaining asset quality. The company attributes this to its stringent underwriting process, approving only 15% of applications, and its hybrid model of combining technology with on-ground customer support. “Having customer fulfilment centres and officers on ground has helped us maintain better portfolio quality,” Agrawal noted.

Navadhan currently operates across 700 pin codes in five states and aims to deepen its presence by expanding to 3,000 pin codes before entering new states.

Looking ahead, an IPO is on the company’s roadmap but is not an immediate goal. “An IPO is a critical milestone, but we are building a 20-year story,” Agrawal said. “At a stage when we have substantial capital absorption capacity, around ₹1,000 crore, and stable, predictable metrics, we will consider going public.” For now, Navadhan remains focused on scaling its operations, strengthening its lender partnerships, and serving the rural MSME ecosystem.

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