Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd (FINO) to raise INR 70 Crore for Business Expansion

Dec. 11, 2009 - PRLog -- Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd (FINO or the Company), India’s leading end-to-end Financial Inclusion solution and services provider for unbanked & under-served rural markets, has raised growth funding of INR 70 Crore from a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Asian Ventures Fund 3 (HSBC) a fund advised by HSBC Private Equity Asia Limited (HPEA) Group and its existing shareholders Intel Capital (Intel) and International Finance Corporation (IFC). HSBC and Intel have also purchased the entire of Legatum Ventures’ (existing investor) stake in the company.
The banking industry in India has shown tremendous growth in the last decade, however, this has not reached vast segments of the population, especially the under privileged sections of the society. It is estimated that there are around 500-600 million people who are financially excluded in India. Being an end to end player, FINO has emerged as the pioneer in the Financial Inclusion space and is well poised to take advantage of this huge market opportunity and drive the future growth for Banks & Insurance companies. The company has successfully enrolled over 8 million customers to date and expects to enroll another 7 million by the end of this financial year. The Company is on a high growth path and will utilize the new capital to scale FINO’s technology and to expand its reach enabling the Company to continue its growth trajectory.
Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor for the transaction.
Commenting on the investment, Manish Khera, CEO of FINO said, “The new equity in FINO has come at an opportune time when Financial Inclusion is being seen not as desirable but as a necessity for growth and stability of social fabric in the country. The capital will help FINO further the cause of financial inclusion. FINO is privileged to be a sectoral entity with its existing set of banking and insurance investors which is further augmented with the entry of HSBC as one of its key investors”.
Rishi Gupta, CFO of FINO said, “I must thank all our existing investors in reinstating their support for the FINO model which has gained strength in the last 3 years with over 8 million customers. The fresh inflow from HSBC, IFC and Intel will help FINO meet its financial need for building a scalable technology platform for 25 million customers and expanding its Business Correspondent network to over 25,000 locations over the next 3 years”.  
James Savage, Investment Director of HPEA in Hong Kong also commented on the investment, “FINO is a market leader and pioneer in providing technology solutions to financial institutions for reaching out to the under-served and unbanked sector in India.  With more than 135 million households unbanked, the market has potential for exponential growth.  We believe that FINO is well positioned to benefit from this opportunity.”
Alok Gupta, Investment Director of HSBC Private Equity Advisors (India) Limited in Mumbai also commented on the investment, “Financial Inclusion is a key component of our corporate sustainability initiatives and includes areas such as education, livelihoods and microfinance. We intend to work with FINO to further develop opportunities in financial inclusion, particularly with corporate agencies and business entities.”
       “Fino is pioneering the use of technology in the banking industry, and we expect them to become a widely used platform for rural banking and NREGA payments,” said Sudheer Kuppam, Managing Director, Intel Capital India, Japan, Australasia & South-East Asia. “The FINO management team has demonstrated great operational skills in building a scalable business model, which works very well in the highly complex and dispersed Indian market environment. We believe FINO's technology and operational skills will be relevant in other developing markets where similar demographics exist, and we expect to support the company in its overseas expansion plans.”
IFC South Asia Director Paolo M Martelli, said, “IFC’s continued support to FINO reflects our commitment to making financial services accessible to rural and urban communities who have not enjoyed such access before, thereby assisting development at the base of the pyramid in India.”

About Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd (FINO)
FINO provides technology solution and services to enable financial institutions reach out to the under-served & the unbanked sector of India. The company provides end-to-end solutions right from the technology back end support to the sourcing and disbursement of cash on the front end through its established field agent network. The FINO platform works on POT-Card as well as mobile infrastructure. The Company has a comprehensive product suite ranging from savings bank accounts, loan products, recurring deposits, remittances, insurance products, government disbursements etc. FINO is currently acquiring incrementally over 30,000 customers per day and is doing more than 2 million transactions per month through its network of 7,000 agents spread in 21 states and more than 200 districts in the country. FINO is also involved in government-funded schemes such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana through ICICI Lombard. The prominent banks with whom FINO is working are Axis Bank, Corporation Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ING Vyasa Bank, OBC, PNB, SBI and Union Bank of India.
About HPEA
HSBC's Asian private equity operations were established in 1988 in the Hong Kong SAR by HPEA, the Asian private equity arm of the HSBC Group.  HPEA advises both expansion capital and buyout focused private equity funds as well as venture funds. Over its history, HPEA has advised six regional private equity funds and three venture funds.  These funds seek to achieve long-term capital appreciation for investors.  The private equity funds focus on mid-market expansion capital and buy-out transactions in Asia. The venture funds focus on small and mid-sized technology and consumer focused companies with significant interests in Asia.  
For more information, please visit: www.hsbcnet.com/pi/asia
About Intel Capital
Intel Capital, Intel's global investment organization, makes equity investments in innovative technology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software, and services targeting enterprise, home, mobility, health, consumer Internet, semiconductor manufacturing and cleantech. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$9.5 billion in over 1,050 companies in 47 countries. In that timeframe, 175 portfolio companies have gone public on various exchanges around the world and 241 were acquired or participated in a merger. In 2008, Intel Capital invested about US$1.59 billion in 169 investments with approximately 62 percent of funds (excluding Clearwire) invested outside North America. For more information on Intel Capital and its differentiated advantages, please visit: www.intelcapital.com.
About International Finance Corporation
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

For further information please contact
Ms. Chitra Shripad
(Mob: +91 9823442065)
Email :- chitra@bluelotuspr.com

# # #

Blue Lotus Communications are Communication Consultants with an array of health care, technology and finance clients. The other businesses of the group include a design boutique called Mustard Designs and Blue Bytes, an Information Logistics service.