Seeds Fincap, a Gurugram-based non-banking financial company, raised more than ₹100 crore (approximately $11.7 million to $12.0 million) in a Series B round led by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the company announced Tuesday. Existing backers Z47 and Lok Capital joined the round, alongside new investors The Norinchukin Bank and Alteria Capital.
The funding underscores growing investor appetite for lenders targeting India's vast pool of underserved micro and small enterprises. Seeds concentrates on cash-flow-based loans ranging from ₹50,000 to ₹10 lakh, a bracket that SIDBI estimates represents roughly ₹30 trillion in unmet credit demand across the country.
"This capital will enable us to deepen our footprint, strengthen our technology capabilities, and reach more underserved entrepreneurs," managing director and CEO Subhash Chandra Acharya said in a statement. The company plans to deploy the fresh capital toward geographic expansion, branch openings, technology and risk-management upgrades, and hiring additional field teams.
Footprint and financial trajectory
Seeds Fincap has expanded rapidly since launching operations in April 2021. The lender operated 164 branches as of August 2026, serving more than 70,000 active borrowers, according to figures cited by Inc42. Its assets under management stood at ₹722 crore as of August 31, 2026, a CRISIL rating document shows.
In the fiscal year ended March 2024, Seeds disbursed approximately ₹620 crore and posted a profit after tax of ₹3.3 crore, up from ₹1.4 crore the prior year. The company has set an ambitious target: reaching ₹1,000 crore in AUM by March next year.
Geographically, the NBFC's portfolio tilts heavily toward northern states. Uttar Pradesh accounted for 43 percent of AUM as of mid-2024, followed by Rajasthan at 21 percent and Bihar at 16 percent, the rating agency noted.
Portfolio composition and risk metrics
Seeds offers a range of products including unsecured business loans, secured business loans, dairy financing, supply chain finance, and climate-linked credit. The bulk of its book leans toward unsecured lending, which carried an average yield of 27 to 29 percent and generated a net interest margin around 13 percent in the most recent fiscal year, according to CRISIL.
That tilt comes with risk. Gross non-performing assets climbed to 4.0 percent as of June 30, 2026, from 3.3 percent three months earlier and 1.2 percent a year before that. The uptick reflects broader stress across the unsecured MSME lending segment, which represents roughly 6 percent of NBFC assets under management industrywide but has seen elevated delinquencies in recent quarters.
CRISIL flagged the trend in an April sector review, noting that many lenders have begun shifting toward secured loan-against-property products to manage risk. Seeds intends to increase its LAP share going forward, the rating agency said in a September rationale. The company's gearing ratio stood at 3.6 times as of mid-year, up modestly from 3.5 times three months prior.
Backing and founder pedigree
Z47, the rebranded entity formerly known as Matrix Partners India, and Lok Capital co-led an $8.5 million Series A in July 2023. The pair returned to lead a ₹50 crore pre-Series B round in August last year, bringing Norinchukin and Alteria into the fold ahead of the latest raise. Unitus Capital advised on the Series B transaction.
For the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the investment extends a long-running focus on financial inclusion in India. "Small business owners often face challenges in accessing formal credit," Rakesh Goyal, head of financial services at the foundation's India office, said in a statement. The foundation's India portfolio includes microfinance and inclusive finance players such as Arohan, Arriba Inclusive Finance, Arthan, and Avanti.
Acharya and co-founder Avishek Sarkar, who serves as chief risk officer, both cut their teeth at Satya MicroCapital before launching Seeds in January 2021. Media reports also name Sumeet Dhall as a co-founder, though the company has not publicly detailed his role.
The Series B positions Seeds to navigate a complex moment for the sector. Demand for small-business credit remains enormous, but lenders must balance growth ambitions against rising delinquencies and tighter underwriting standards. Whether Seeds can hit its ₹1,000 crore target while keeping credit costs in check will test the team's ability to scale without sacrificing discipline.
