Vayana raises $20.5 million as part of Series D round led by SMBC’s Asia Rising Fund

Vayana, a trade credit infrastructure platform specialising in supply chain finance and B2B trade enablement solutions, founded in 2017 that also facilitates GST returns, E-Way bills, and E-invoices for several corporates and MSMEs, has raised $20.5 million funding as part of its Series D round, the company said in a statement today, August 13.

The funding round was led by SMBC's Asia Rising Fund with participation from existing investors such as the International FinanceCorporation (IFC), Chiratae Ventures, and Jungle Ventures, as well as family offices like Quantum State Investment Fund and Emerald Company Private Ltd. 

According to the company, the 65 million-dollar-strong MSME sector in India faces a significant credit gap. Since the total addressable demand is approximately 120 billion dollars per month, while banks and financial institutions are currently covering only 45 percent of it. Therefore it promises to provide a full stack of trade credit assessment, monitoring, and trade document processing, backed by marquee institutional investors such as IFC, Marshall Wace, March Capital, Jungle Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, BII, PayU, and now SMBC Asia Rising Fund

"We are excited to support innovation in finance to create social value via our collaboration with Vayana, which seeks to enable SMEs through opportunities to be part of supply chains. We look forward to combining the expertise of SMBC Group with Vayana's technologies to contribute towards the further growth of India," said Keiji Matsunaga, general manager at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). 

TCM Sundaram, founder & vice-chairman at Chiratae Ventures said, "We were among the initial investors in Vayana and steadfast supporters of their vision to be a one-stop solution for all trade finance solutions for MSMEs, enterprises, and lenders on their technology and underwriting platform across rounds. Vayana is fulfilling a vital gap for MSMEs in their growth to significantly contribute to India's journey to become 3rd largest economy."  

Ram Iyer, Founder and CEO of Vayana, added, "MSMEs in India contribute 30% to GDP and 62% towards employment. Their continued success will leverage India's population demographics and equitable growth across the country. Access to affordable and embedded trade credit represents the best catalyst to aid their success. We also believe that this goal requires the support of highly experienced financial services investors and we are glad to have the backing of SMBC Asia Rising Fund as well as our current investors in this round. We owe a huge gratitude to over 400 Vayanians working relentlessly in this mission and to the corporates, banks, and MSME customers who have encouraged us on this journey." 

Manpreet Ratia, Partner at Jungle Ventures, one of the investors at Vayana said, "Vayana has transformed trade finance by simplifying and democratizing it for businesses of all sizes. Since our initial financing in 2017, Vayana has facilitated over $30B in financing, served over 300,000 Indian enterprises, and covered 3,000+ supply chains. We're excited to continue supporting Vayana in building India's largest and most affordable Trade Financing Institution and providing solutions across every layer of the supply chain."

Vayana has stated that this funding round is set to accelerate Vayana's commitment to providing affordable financing throughout the supply chain, with the introduction of new products aimed at enhancing its suite of trade credit, compliance, and risk management platforms.