Incorporated in 2011, the NBFC has been profitable consecutively for the last nine years despite multiple industry-wide debacles, including the IL&FS crisis of 2018 So far, Kinara Capital has raised a total of $178 Mn from prominent investors like Sorenson Impact Foundation, Gaja Capital, responsAbility Investments, IndusInd Bank, etc. The NBFC currently claims an NPA rate of 3-4%. By the end of FY24, its AUM stood at INR 3,142 Cr, up 26% YoY, and its capital adequacy ratio stood at 27.
6% In 2011, when Hardika Shah, now the founder and CEO of Kinara Capital, was contemplating setting up a non-banking finance company (NBFC), she had two options — either to join hands with larger enterprises to offer secured loans or support the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) growth story with collateral-free offerings. Shah chose the latter — the road less taken. While the move was bold (as it defied the trend back then), the idea was to flourish alongside the country’s MSME space, which has long been credited as the backbone of the Indian economy.
Notably, at the time (2011-12), the country fostered 26.1 Mn MSMEs, employing 59.5 Mn individuals, a far cry from an estimated 75 Mn such enterprises, employing a stonking 123 Mn individuals, which mushroomed by the end of the financial year 2022-23 (FY23).
Thirteen years on, Shah’s NBFC has been profitable consecutively for the last nine years despite multiple industry-wide debacles, including the IL&FS crisis of 20.
