The Disruptor Series: Varthana Finance – Empowering Affordable Education with Smart Finance

🏫 Why Varthana Matters

Founded in 2013, Varthana is a Bengaluru-based NBFC dedicated to financing affordable private schools serving low‑income communities. It provides collateral-free loans for infrastructure, teacher development, and vocational education, helping over 12,000 schools and 5.5 million students across 16 states.

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💡 Founders & Mission

• Steve Hardgrave (Co‑Founder & CEO): Leads strategy focusing on partnerships with impact investors and green infrastructure integration .
  
• Brajesh Mishra (Co‑Founder): Co-founded Varthana to support low-cost private schools’ growth, transforming them into community anchors Varthana.
  

Their shared goal: ensure quality education isn’t a privilege but a right—by funding and support.

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💰 New Impact Debt Funding

In July 2025, Varthana secured ₹159 Crore (~$18.6M) through a mix of External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) and Non‑Convertible Debentures (NCDs) from:

• BlueEarth Capital (₹69 Cr, ECB)
  
• ResponsAbility (₹65 Cr, NCD)
  
• Franklin Templeton AIF (₹25 Cr, NCD)
  

The funds will be deployed to:

1. Expand school loans and infrastructure support
   
2. Integrate solar and renewable energy into partner schools for operational resilience and sustainability.
   

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📈 Scale & Impact

• AUM reached ₹1,897 Cr (FY25), up 48% YoY.
  
• Student loan book soared 83% to ₹291 Cr.
  
• Over 75,000 loans disbursed: school infrastructure, teacher training, and vocational education.
  
• Currently coordinates through 40 branches and 150 spokes across 16 states.
  

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🌟 Green + Edu-Finance: A Unique Mix

Varthana isn’t just financing classrooms—it’s pushing schools to adopt renewable energy, reducing long-term costs and carbon footprint. This aligns with global clean energy goals.

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🔥 Strategic Momentum

• Q1 2025: Raised ₹75 Cr debt from OfBusiness & Oxyzo.
  
• Dec 2024: $15 M loan via BlueOrchard’s Microfinance Fund.
  
• Feb 2024: Acquired loan book of Indian School Finance Company.
  

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🎯 Why It’s Disruptive

Element	Disruptive Factor
Targeting affordable private schools	Bridges critical funding gap for Tier 2/3 institutions
Collateral-free tailored loans	Meets unique needs of school owners and educators
Impact-driven capital	Blends education outcomes with sustainability goals via green financing
Organic growth + acquisition strategy	Sustained expansion through funding and horizontal integration

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🚀 What’s Ahead

• Continued roll-out of student and green-infrastructure loans post recent debt infusion.
  
• Equity raise in late FY25 (~₹100 Cr) to further scale operations.
  
• Expanding digital support services for school operations and teacher quality.