Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC), one of the largest commercial vehicle financers, and part of the Shriram Group, secured a long-term funding of $250 million from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) of the US. The $250- million external commercial borrowing (ECB) is a fixed-rate 10-year loan under STFC’s social finance framework. The funding will enable STFC to further its financial inclusion mission.

The funds raised from DFC will enable STFC to provide credit for the purchase of new and used vehicles throughout India. The proceeds from DFC can be used for vehicle finance for commercial purposes, alternate fuel-financing namely through CNG, LPG and electric vehicles and employment generation through MSME loans, specifically, finance women entrepreneurs. It will also be used for catering to laggard states of the country and empower and promote the social and economic status of the underserved communities in India, said STFC.

Besides the DFC loan, STFC has also raised $475 million through a 144A bond from the international market during the start of 2022, thereby continuing to diversify its funding profile. The fundraising is amid the merger process of Shriram Capital (SCL) and Shriram City Union Finance (SCUF) with STFC as a part of restructuring in Shriram Group.

Umesh Revankar, VC & MD, STFC, said, “STFC’s success in securing international funding from one of the world’s leading providers of development finance is a testament to our strength and stability, as well as an endorsement of our mission to further financial inclusion. We will help fund more individual operators to buy vehicles into new markets, provide funding towards employment generation in rural areas, and empower more communities to optimise their income and have a better quality of life.”

STFC is a leader in the organised financing of pre-owned trucks with a strategic presence in 5-10-year-old truck-lending. The company has assets on balance sheet of Rs 1.27 trillion (March 2022) and has a pan-India presence with a network of 1,854 branches, and employs 25,456 employees including 19,475 business teams. The company has built a strong customer base of around 2.11 million customers.

Andrew Herscowitz, chief development officer of DFC, said, “DFC’s investment in STFC is for helping boost economic growth, development, and financial inclusion across India. DFC’s financing helps increase access to finance for owner-operators and other small businesses to purchase commercial vehicles—including business owners from rural and underserved communities. With DFC’s loan, STFC will also help to Green India’s commercial transport sector, a notoriously difficult sector to decarbonise, by financing alternative fuel and lower-emissions vehicles.”