Prodigy Finance, a global higher education finance company, has secured financing of up to $310 million with a funding commitment from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

This latest financing, building on the previous partnership with DFC, prioritises social impact with a minimum financing threshold of 30% for women and 50% for individuals from low- and lower-middle-income countries, it said in a statement.

“Together, we are empowering a new generation of global leaders to unlock opportunities that shape a brighter future,” said Prodigy Finance Chief Financial Officer Neha Sethi.

The higher education finance company’s borderless lending model allows students to apply for loans based on their future earning potential rather than their current circumstances or credit history.

Since its founding in 2007, the international student lender has enabled over 43,000 postgraduate master’s students to attend top universities, disbursing over $2.3 billion in funding to students from more than 150 countries.

Sonal Kapoor, Global Chief Commercial Officer of Prodigy Finance, told YourStory that India is its core market and has the largest share of its funding.

According to the Prodigy Finance 2022 Impact Report, students reported that the company’s loan helped them to pursue their dream career (91%), achieve success in their personal life (83%), and at least double their salary (74%).

In September, Prodigy Finance launched a $30 million blended finance programme in collaboration with The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies.

Food delivery and quick commerce platform Swiggy’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) was subscribed only 35% on the second day of bidding as broader market indices slipped in red. 

Sriharsha Majety-led Swiggy witnessed the quota reserved for employees being subscribed 1.15 times by the end of bidding on the second day. Retail investors subscribed to 84% of the shares. 

According to data from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), non-institutional investors purchased 14% of their allocated shares, and qualified institutional buyers’ (QIBs) part was booked at 28%.  

As of the second day, Swiggy’s IPO received bids for 5.57 crore shares, amounting to 35% of the total issue size. The issue was subscribed 12% on day one.

Swiggy, which is set to list on Indian stock markets on November 13, initially aimed for a valuation of approximately $15 billion, but later updated its RHP to seek a valuation of around Rs 87,000 crore or about $11.3 billion at the upper price band. 

“Swiggy’s decision to lower its valuation leaves some upside room for the investors, we still recommend an AVOID recommendation to this issue due to the “reported negative” cash flows and ongoing losses, alongside a slightly high valuation of 7.7x FY24 price-to-sales,” noted Aditya Birla Money in a research report dated Nov 4. 

It raised nearly Rs 5,085 crore (about $605 million) from anchor investors, which included life insurance and mutual fund arms of HDFC, ICICI, and SBI. The anchor book, which witnessed participation from over 75 key domestic mutual funds, also saw bids from global mutual fund investors like Astrone Capital, Fidelity, and Blackrock.

Swiggy plans to raise close to Rs 11,700 crore in its IPO which will include fresh issue of 11.54 crore equity shares along with an offer for sale (OFS) of  17.51 crore equity share by existing stakeholders. It has set IPO price band at Rs 371- Rs 390.

Northern Arc has raised $65 million in debt commitments for its maiden Climate Fund, through its fund management arm, Northern Arc Investments IFSC Trust.

The debt commitments include $50 million from the United States International Development Finance Corp (DFC) and $15 million from the official Development Bank of the Republic of Austria, OeEB, it said in a statement on Thursday.

The non-banking financial institution’s (NBFC) fund aims to address critical funding gaps of growth stage startups in the solar energy, e-mobility, sustainable agriculture, and circular economy spaces.

“The significant investment from DFC and OeEB reinforces our ongoing commitment to revolutionise climate finance and transform the financial landscape for all households and businesses in India. By channelling these funds into green projects across our focus sectors of MSME, affordable housing, vehicle finance, agriculture finance, microfinance, and consumer finance, we aim to create a cascading effect that promotes sustainable development,” said Ashish Mehrotra, Managing Director and CEO, Northern Arc.

In October, the company launched its performing credit AIF fund (Category II), ‘Finserv Fund’, through its subsidiary Northern Arc Investment Managers (NAIM).

The fund aims to raise a target corpus of Rs 1,500 crore, including a greenshoe option of Rs 500 crore.

Northern Arc has assets under management (AUM) worth Rs 15,121 crore through its balance sheets and active AIF funds, as of September 30. It is backed by investors such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, LeapFrog, and 360 ONE, among others.