Arjun Ahluwalia, cofounder and chief executive officer of Jai Kisan is a non-executive director of Kushal Finnovation Capital.
With this new NBFC licence, Jai Kisan can now offer customised financial products including loans from its own portfolio. The company will also be able to enter into co-lending partnerships with financial institutions, including public sector banks in India.
Previously, Jai Kisan’s offerings were limited to products provided by its partner banks and NBFCs through its platform. The new license enables Jai Kisan to directly create and deliver tailored financial solutions to farmers and rural businesses, according to Ahluwalia.
“Close to a billion people reside in the hinterlands of India. Positive government reforms and availability of affordable data and smartphones have transformed rural India into an equally connected community. The NBFC licence allows us to cater to our farmer and rural business customers with credit products they want, how they want them, when they want them and where they want them – which is what they deserve,” Ahluwalia said.
Founded in 2017 by Ahluwalia and Adriel Maniego, Jai Kisan is a technology-driven financial services platform catering to rural businesses, individuals, and farmers. The company has developed a digital ecosystem connecting corporates, rural intermediaries (distributors, retailers and suppliers), and financial institutions (banks and NBFCs) to facilitate supply chain financing and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options for products like agricultural inputs and equipment.
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Since its inception, Jai Kisan claims to have partnered with over 350 corporates, served more than one lakh rural businesses, assisted over eight lakh farmers, and facilitated disbursal of over Rs 6,000 crore.The company has also expanded its advisory board, bringing in senior bankers such as Arvind Kathpalia, former group president and chief risk officer at Kotak Mahindra Bank, as senior credit risk advisor and Ravi Duvvuru, former president and chief compliance officer at Jana Small Finance Bank, as senior advisor on governance and regulatory compliance.
In 2022, Jai Kisan raised $50 million in equity and debt as part of the first tranche of its Series B round, with new investors including GMO Venture Partners, Yara Growth Ventures, and DG Daiwa Ventures, alongside existing investors Blume Ventures, Arkam Ventures, Mirae Asset, and Snow Leopard Ventures.
Further, Ahluwalia said that the company is planning a new fundraise in the next two to three quarters, primarily to support the operationalisation of the NBFC, though he did not disclose the amount the firm intends to raise.
“Jai Kisan can now scale faster within the regulatory framework that the license provides. It can operate as a player who can access more credit directly and disburse faster to its rural customers. As Jai Kisan’s early investors, we see this as a significant step towards building a rural India focussed financial institution,” said Rahul Chandra, managing director of Arkam Ventures.