Elevation Capital leads Series B funding in rural lending startup SarvaGram

SarvaGram Solutions Pvt Ltd on Monday said it has raised $10.5 million (Rs 76.32 crore) as part of its Series B funding round.

The round was led by Elevation Capital (formerly SAIF Partners), said SarvaGram in a statement. Existing investor Elevar Capital also participated in this round.

The company will use the fresh capital to expand, introduce new offerings and upgrade its technology platform.

SarvaGram, which was launched in November 2018 by Utpal Isser and Sameer Mishra, says it has developed and deployed proprietary tools, including scorecards, for various customer segments to automate lending decisions. The company has worked with rural households to promote digital payments during the pandemic.

Isser, an alumnus of the Institute of Rural Management Anand, worked for ICICI Bank’s rural banking division for nearly two decades. Mishra, who is an MBA from Kanpur University, has worked with Fullerton India. He also headed rural business for Adani Capital.

SarvaGram first raised funding from Elevar Capital in October 2019.

Elevar’s India portfolio includes Varthana, a lender to schools serving low-income groups; Indifi Technologies Pvt Ltd, an online platform that connects small and medium businesses with lending institutions; and SecureNow Insurance Broker.

Elevation Capital invests seed and early-stage capital across consumer internet, financial services, logistics, enterprise SaaS (software as a service), consumer brands and B2B (business-to-business) services. 

Previously known as SAIF Partners, the 20-year-old firm rebranded to Elevation Capital in October last year and closed its seventh consecutive fund dubbed at $400 million. The latest fund takes the firm’s total assets under management to more than $2 billion.   

Elevation Capital's other fintech investments include Paytm, Ziploan, Capital Float, ClearTax and Coverfox.