Warburg Pincus-backed micro-enterprise lender Vistaar Financial Services Pvt Ltd on Monday announced that it has received an investment of nearly $156 million (Rs 1,360 crore) led by Motilal Oswal Alternates, the alternative investments arm of Motilal Oswal Group.
The funding also saw participation from multiple investors, including Singapore-headquartered Asia impact investor ABC Impact, and others, the company said in a statement.
Founded by Brahmanand Hegde and Ramakrishna Nishtala in 2010 and based in Bengaluru, Vistaar provides loans to micro, small and medium enterprises. Since the acquisition of a majority stake by Warburg Pincus in 2023, the company claims to have scaled across operational, financial, and digital fronts.
Vistaar currently operates in 12 states with 250 branches and manages over Rs 5,000 crore in assets.
“This investment allows us to deepen our grassroot presence, drive customer-centric innovation, product diversification, and strengthen brand positioning as we continue to create greater value for all our stakeholders,” said Avijit Saha, Managing Director & CEO, Vistaar Financial Services.
Headquartered in Mumbai, Motilal Oswal Alternates manages approximately $3.2 billion across private equity and real estate strategies. Recently, the firm raised about $800 million in the first close of its fifth private equity vehicle, India Business Excellence Fund V (IBEF V), surpassing its initial target of $750 million. The fund, which has a hard cap of $950 million, was launched in April and is expected to see its final close by October 2025.
Since its inception in 2007, Motilal Oswal Alternates has invested in 50 companies and exited 23, returning around $1 billion in liquidity. Recent exits include IKF Finance, Happy Forgings and Dairy Classic.
“Vistaar’s leadership in MSME lending, particularly in semi-urban and rural India, aligns strongly with our investment philosophy of backing transformative, high-impact platforms enabling last-mile delivery of credit. We look forward to working with Avijit and the Vistaar team in its next phase of growth, anchored in strong corporate governance and risk management, as they continue to build a sustainable, technology-enabled lending institution,” said Vinit Mehta, Managing Director, Motilal Oswal Alternates.
