Mumbai-based trade financing startup Vayana Network has raised $20.5 million (INR 170.8 crore) in its Series D funding round. The round is led by new investor SMBC Asia Rising Fund, which contributed INR 62.6 crore. Other participants include Jungle Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Deep Financial, among others.
According to sources, this funding is part of an ongoing Series D round. Post-allotment, SMBC Asia Rising Fund will hold a 3.25% stake in Vayana Network, while IFC will own 5.66%. The startup’s valuation in this round is estimated to be around $240 million.
This investment comes nearly two years after Vayana Network’s Series C round, where it raised INR 140 crore ($15 million). Prior to that, the startup secured $38 million from Chiratae Ventures, CDC Group, and Jungle Ventures.
Founded in 2009 by Ramaswami Iyer, Vayana Network is a B2B trade finance intermediary that connects SMEs and corporates with financial institutions, providing low-cost access to trade loans. The startup has facilitated over $10 billion in financing, including over $1 billion through B2B card flows, benefiting more than 1.5 lakh MSMEs across 1,000 supply chains in 25 sectors.
Vayana Network operates across 600 cities and 1,400+ pin codes in India and 20 countries globally. The startup is also a GST Suvidha Provider (GSP) and offers services to numerous corporates and SMEs. To date, it has raised around $57 million, with backing from investors like CDC Group, IFC, Jungle Ventures, and PayU.
In 2021, Vayana Network received in-principle approval to establish an International Trade Finance Services (ITFS) platform at GIFT City (Gujarat) under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).
Vayana Network competes with companies like Vivriti Capital, Yubi, KreditBee, and FinAGG in the trade financing space.
