Key Transaction Details

UGRO Capital Limited raised INR 380 crore through issuance of 38,000 senior, secured, rated, listed, redeemable and transferable Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs), fully subscribed by Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO), the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank. This represents FMO's third investment in UGRO Capital in under three years, following previous NCD investments of INR 250 crore in December 2023 and INR 260 crore in February 2025.

Instrument Terms and Purpose

The NCDs have a five-year tenor, matching UGRO's long-duration secured lending to small businesses. Proceeds will be deployed towards financing for women-owned and women-led SMEs, youth-owned and youth-led SMEs, rural SMEs, and eligible green projects aligned with FMO's sustainability approach.

Funding Base Development

UGRO Capital has now raised over INR 1,300 crore of debt from development finance institutions and impact-focused investors globally. FMO's cumulative commitment to UGRO now stands at INR 890 crore. Other investors include IFU (Danish sovereign development fund), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Triple Jump, BlueOrchard, responsAbility, Calvert Impact Capital, Enabling Qapital, GMO, WaterEquity and MicroVest.

Business Operations and Impact Metrics

UGRO Capital serves MSMEs through two main engines:

Emerging Market Portfolio:

  • 317 branches across 13 states
  • ~80% of AUM in Tier-3 geographies and beyond
  • Average ticket size: ~INR 18 lakh (secured)
  • Assesses borrowers using proprietary GRO Score underwriting based on banking cash flows

GROx Embedded Platform:

  • ~3.4 lakh active customers
  • Over 60,000 loans disbursed per month
  • Average working capital ticket: ~INR 1 lakh
  • Serves kirana stores, agri-input dealers, pharma distributors

Financial Performance and Growth

In Q1 FY27:

  • GROx disbursed INR 1,853 crore
  • GROx AUM rose 32% quarter-on-quarter to INR 3,003 crore
  • Emerging Market and GROx portfolios accounted for 46% of total AUM as of June 30, 2026 (up from 32% in December 2025)
  • Expected to form large majority of book by FY29

Impact Assessment and Verification

UGRO's Social Impact Report 2024-25, verified by Dun & Bradstreet India, maps portfolio to eight UN Sustainable Development Goals. Key impact metrics:

  • 76% of borrowers have a woman owner or co-owner
  • 88% of borrowers report revenue growth after UGRO financing
  • ~2 lakh direct livelihoods supported across portfolio (management estimate, December 2025)
  • Sector AUM: clean energy (INR 374 crore), healthcare (INR 430 crore), water and sanitation (INR 268 crore), education (INR 102 crore) as of December 2025

Management Commentary

Mr. Shachindra Nath, Founder, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, emphasized that development capital views MSME lending in India positively and noted there is no trade-off between social impact and shareholder returns. Mr. Juan Jose Dada Ortiz, Co-Chief Investment Officer at FMO, stated the financing will support greater access to credit for underserved MSMEs across India.

Company Background

UGRO Capital Limited (NSE: UGROCAP | BSE: 511742) is India's first listed NBFC startup, listed in July 2018. The company addresses the INR 30 lakh crore MSME credit gap and has raised over INR 2,400 crore of equity since inception.