Oikocredit invests in affordable housing finance provider Sitara in India
March 21 | 2019 Oikocredit has made an equity investment of INR 670 million in affordable housing finance company Sitara together with Omidyar Network india, HDFC Life Insurance, HDFC Holdings Ltd. and Women’s World Banking to foster inclusion and equality in the Indian home loans sector.
Sitara (SEWA Grih Rin Limited) uses an innovative system of alternative collateral to help under-served and low-income households in urban and peri-urban locations access affordable housing. The company has a special focus on advancing the land rights of women.
Currently operating in seven regions throughout India, Sitara will use Oikocredit’s investment to strengthen its position in existing areas and strategically expand into other states.
Shruti Gonsalves, MD & CEO at Sitara, said: “Millions of families living in the urban space rely on the unorganised sector for a living, and they continue to remain financially excluded from formal banking systems due to tenuous land tenure rights. We are thrilled with this investment as we will get the opportunity to further scale SEWA Grih Rin Ltd’s [Sitara] operations.”