Vikram Akula back into microfinance biz through Vaya Finserv

Hyderabad-based Vaya Finserv is set to launch microfinance operations, also marking the comeback of Vikram Akula into the sector he’d substantially influenced not long before.

Debuting as a banking correspondent (BC) in 2015, Vaya is opening its first set of 15 microfinance branches this week in Bihar, a state where it sees a big need for such loans. Akula is co-founder and chairman of Vaya.

The entity currently operates 50 BC branches in five states and managed Rs 436 crore of a combined micro loan portfolio for YES Bank, RBL Bank and Reliance Capital. It recently got a non-bank finance corporation microfinance licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

In 2012, Akula quit as chairman of Bharat Financial Inclusion (formerly SKS Microfinance), which he’d founded and led to a successful initial public offering (IPO) of equity in 2010. It was a result of differences triggered by the Andhra Pradesh microfinance crisis.

Vaya has prepared a three-year growth plan, based on insights regarding the managing of risk and end-to-end use of technology, including big-data analytics.

“In three years (by 2020), we’d like to grow our total loan portfolio to Rs 3,000 crore. While a third of it will come from the BC operations, the remaining loan portfolio will be generated through our own microlending platform and investments,” Jagadish Ramadugu, co-founder, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Vaya, told Business Standard.

While the initial rounds of investment were brought in by the founders, the company is in negotiation to raise $15 million (about Rs 100 crore) in equity and Rs 300 crore in debt from outside sources by the coming March, says Ramadugu, whose earlier stints included senior roles in Asian Paints and Coca-Cola India.