Bharat Housing Network raises Rs 125 crore in funding round led by NABVENTURES

Bharat Housing Network, a technology platform facilitating co-lending in the affordable housing sector, announced a successful fundraise of Rs 125 crore in a Series A funding round. The investment was led by NABVENTURES Fund, with participation from Varanium NexGen Fund, 9Unicorns, Riverwalk Holdings, SMK Ventures, DMI Sparkle Fund, LC Nueva, and other investors. NABVENTURES Fund is supported by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

The platform, founded in 2021, positions itself as India's largest co-lending infrastructure for credit delivery in the affordable mortgage-priority sector. Its business model revolves around providing capital, technology, and infrastructure to housing finance companies and non-banking finance companies, aiming to make housing credit more accessible and affordable across income groups.

Lalit Menghani, the founder of Bharat Housing Network, emphasised the critical role of a robust housing sector in India's journey to becoming a developed economy. The platform has onboarded 23 financial institutions and utilises a partner branch network to deliver capital in 200 locations across 12 states.

NABVENTURES Fund's CEO, Rajesh Ranjan, highlighted the alignment of their investment with government initiatives like PM Awaas Yojana to promote low-cost housing and affordable loans. The goal of Bharat Housing Network is to reduce the cost of borrowing for home loan buyers.

This funding marks NABVENTURES' seventh investment of the year, with plans to invest in at least two more startups by year-end. The platform aims to achieve gross disbursements of USD 500 million in the priority segment over the next three years.

Bharat Housing Network operates under the umbrella of Homeville, a technology company dedicated to building infrastructure and credit platforms for the housing finance industry. The fresh capital infusion will be utilised to expand affordable mortgage assets on the balance sheet and enhance the technology platform. The founders of Homeville, Lalit Menghani, Madhusudan Sharma, and Prasad Ajinkya, bring over 17 years of experience in finance, technology, and real estate to the venture.

NABVENTURES Fund, with assets under management (AUM) of Rs 598 crore, focuses on venture growth equity investments in the food, agritech, and rural fintech sectors. To date, the fund has invested Rs 315 crore in 13 startups.