Solar loans-focused non-banking finance company (NBFC) Metafin raises $10 million in a mix of equity and debt funding, led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India.

Current investors Prime Venture Partners and Varanium Capital joined the Series A round, along with financial institutions Northern Arc and AU Small Finance Bank.

The new funding will be utilized to enhance Metafin's footprint in current markets, enter new states, and bolster its technology, credit, and service frameworks.

Established in 2019 by Sandeep Chopra and Aditya Shah, Metafin focuses on offering solar loans to small enterprises and homes in rural and semi-urban regions via a network of lending and installation partners. The firm stated that it utilizes real-time energy information to enable scalable funding.

At present, Metafin is concentrating on Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. With this funding, the firm aims to grow into areas such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.

“Today, we have financed over 3,200 installations in 2,700 villages. The ambition now is to scale it up to about 10,000 installations and 8,000 villages across the states we operate. This is largely carrying on to our strategy and theme around energy access in rural India,” says cofounder Sandeep Chopra.

As of March, Metafin has an annual revenue run rate of Rs 22 crore and assets under management (AUM) worth Rs 81 crore.

The company is also in talks with banks and other financing partners to further extend its lending services to its target user segment. In February 2024, Metafin raised $5 million in an equity funding round led by Prime Venture Partners and Varanium Capital.

Also Read: Disney, Nvidia & Google Deepmind Usher Expressive Robotics Revolution

“Metafin’s technology-driven approach, along with their grassroots understanding of rural entrepreneurs and deep knowledge of credit underwriting, positions them as category leaders in the solar asset financing space,” says Nikhil Marwaha, senior executive director at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India.