Credit and Finance for MSMEs: Trade financing startup Vayana Network on Wednesday announced it has raised Rs 114 crore as part of its Series C funding from International Finance Corporation (IFC) and PayU. The company said it plans to use the funds to build products focused on helping MSMEs better manage their working capital and become credit ready. Vayana Network has already raised Rs 283 crore in its existing round from new and existing investors, including Marshall Wace, March Capital, Chiratae Ventures, CDC group, Jungle Ventures, and well-established family offices in India and abroad. 

“While we are set to do more than $10 billion (Rs 76,500 crore) of trade financing in India alone this financial year, we are focusing on creating tools and infrastructure to help small businesses manage their working capital efficiently and sourcing trade finance at the most affordable rates. We will continue to build on our leadership role in public trade infrastructure including GST, e-Invoice and e-Way Bill and embedding credit for every business in the supply chain,” said Ram Iyer, Founder and CEO, Vayana Network. 

The company will also launch Vayana ITFS (International Trade Finance Services) platform at GIFT City, Gujarat in the current financial year. The platform will enable exporters and importers to access international trade finance facilities at competitive rates, added Iyer.

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Vayana Network along with other trade financing platforms such as KredX, M1xchange, and RXIL was issued licenses last year by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to support exporters and importers. Established by the government, IFSCA is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services, and financial institutions in India.

“By supporting the rapid growth of a key player in India’s digital supply chain finance (SCF) infrastructure, IFC will contribute toward increased data and financial integration, enabling better assessment of risk and provision of tailored financing,” said Wendy Werner, India Country Head at IFC. According to Vayana Network, SCF is a $100 billion per month opportunity for financial institutions and 53 per cent of organisations are underserved in terms of credit due to legacy systems and business models. 

Founded in 2017, Pune-based Vayana Network said it has enabled finance of over $10 billion to over 1.5 lakh MSMEs for over 1,000 supply chains in 25 different sectors. Its network spans 600 cities in India and extends to 20 countries. According to Crunchbase data, the company had overall raised $57.2 million (over Rs 437 crore) till its last funding round in November 2021.