Social impact-focused commercial real estate and hospitality lender to deploy $25M over next three years to address $300B small business funding gap in fast-growing market

AVANA Companies (AVANA), a leading private credit platform with over 23 years of experience in commercial lending, announces its expansion into India after receiving Certificate of Registration (CoR) for a non-deposit taking Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) license from the Reserve Bank of India, for its wholly owned subsidiary LendThrive Finance Private Limited. The company has opened a regional office in Pune, India and plans to launch direct commercial lending operations to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India within the next six months, extending its successful model that has deployed over $6.5 billion in loans to more than 500 small businesses across the United States.

For AVANA’s U.S. partners, this move represents AVANA's evolution into a global private credit platform capable of deploying capital across the United States, Middle East, and now India. This expansion provides a direct bridge for U.S. capital into India’s $300B MSME funding gap, offering both diversification and growth potential. AVANA has committed an initial capitalization of $1.5 million to meet license requirements and plans to invest another $20 million to grow the business, with a total investment goal of $25 million over three years.

"India represents a tremendous opportunity for AVANA Companies to extend our mission of providing capital that fuels entrepreneurship, job creation, and sustainable growth across borders," said Sundip Patel, CEO and co-Founder of AVANA Companies. "As an entrepreneur with Indian heritage, I've seen firsthand how access to capital transforms businesses and communities. This expansion allows us to bring our relationship-driven lending approach to a country where family businesses and entrepreneurs drive the economy, creating meaningful impact in communities across India.”

This strategic expansion positions AVANA to tap into India's rapidly growing economy, projected to grow at 6.5-7% annually, while addressing a critical $300 billion credit gap facing the country's 63 million MSMEs. For U.S. stakeholders, this represents an entry into a market that is both economically vital and underpenetrated by formal credit, particularly in sectors where AVANA already has deep expertise, such as hospitality, MSMEs, and real estate-backed lending.

Within this landscape, AVANA sees strong potential in India’s hospitality sector, where current loans total approximately $20 billion, including $3 to $4 billion from NBFCs. The industry is projected to grow at 12% annually through 2030, reaching over $30 billion and adding 500,000+ new hotel rooms. For our U.S. Hospitality partners, this expansion presents a significant cross-border growth channel, supported by AVANA’s established financing models and relationships. AVANA can now deploy capital directly in India without intermediaries, enabling faster loan processing, stronger borrower relationships, and more efficient use of investor funds.

"Small business owners are the heartbeat of India's economy, driving innovation and creating jobs in communities across the country," said Patel. "By combining our tech-enabled lending approach with our impact-first philosophy, we see tremendous opportunity to improve access to capital for these entrepreneurs, unlocking their fuller potential. We see the faces behind these businesses and understand their aspirations go beyond balance sheets."

AVANA will launch lending operations from its Pune headquarters within six months, with regional expansion to other key cities, including Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and New Delhi in the future. AVANA recently hired Siddharth Purandare, former head of SME business at Edelweiss Financial Services, as managing director for India operations. The company is actively hiring for key roles in compliance, accounts, credit, operations and sales and plans to build a team of about 120 people if the company reaches $1 billion in business over the next 5-7 years.

AVANA's digital-first operational approach includes customer onboarding through digital channels, with a physical team for loan servicing and collections. The company will establish branches in major cities as hubs for regional operations and work with loan sourcing agents to acquire customers. While initial lending will focus on working capital, hospitality, and real estate-backed loans, the company also plans to scale into supply chain finance, equipment financing, and import-export financing for small businesses operating between India, USA, and Gulf regions, segments with strong parallels to AVANA's U.S. portfolio.

This expansion follows AVANA's U.S. success, where it provided over $1 billion to minority-owned businesses and created more than 5,500 jobs.

For more information about AVANA Companies and its global initiatives, visit www.avanacompanies.com.

About AVANA Companies:

Founded by brothers Sundip and Sanat Patel in 2002, AVANA Companies comprise of an asset management platform (AVANA Capital), a Credit Union Servicing Organization (AVANA CUSO), a bank (AVANA Bank) and fintech lending and investment platforms for global markets (LendThrive™ & EqualSeat™).

AVANA companies collectively provide funding for small businesses and private credit investment opportunities for institutional and retail investors. The company's goal across the lending programs is to empower American small businesses by providing commercial real estate loans that are impactful and socially driven. For investors, AVANA Companies provides sound investment opportunities secured by real estate and driven by highly qualified sponsors.

AVANA is headquartered in Arizona, USA with regional offices in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and India. It serves small business owners and investors across the United States, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

AVANA invests in the communities it serves, creating jobs, stimulating economic growth and contributing to sustainable projects. AVANA is named to the 2021 Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies. AVANA Capital, LLC is licensed in California under DBO license number 603K752 and in Arizona under CBK license number 0921662. The company has a Certificate of Registration no. N-13.02526 dated 8th July 2025 issued by Reserve Bank of India under Section 45IA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

To learn more, visit www.avanacompanies.com or follow AVANA Companies on LinkedIn.

Disclaimer: The company is having a valid Certificate of Registration no.N-13.02526 dated 8th July 2025 issued by Reserve Bank of India under Section 45IA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. However, the Reserve Bank of India does not accept any responsibility or guarantee about the present position as to the financial soundness of the company or for the correctness of any of the statements or representations made or opinions expressed by the company and for the repayment of deposits / discharge of liabilities by the company.

Neither there is any provision in law to keep, nor does the company keep any part of the deposits with the Reserve Bank of India and by issuing a Certificate of Registration to the company, the Reserve Bank of India, neither accepts any responsibility nor guarantees the payments of deposits to any depositor or any person who has lent any sum to the company.

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"India represents a tremendous opportunity for AVANA Companies to extend our mission of providing capital that fuels entrepreneurship, job creation, and sustainable growth across borders." - Sundip Patel, CEO of AVANA Companies