US development bank International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has committed to invest $70 million in India’s private sectors to advance the country’s health systems and affordable housing and expand support for small businesses.
Nisha Biswal, deputy CEO of DFC, signed a deal to provide a $20-million loan to Panacea Biotec Limited, a global generic and specialty pharmaceutical and vaccine maker, according to the announcement.
The loan commitment seeks to finance the expansion of the company’s production of its hexavalent vaccine, a six-in-one vaccine for children against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, pertussis, hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenza type B.
Panacea Biotec said its DFC loan will help expand its manufacturing capacity to approximately 70 million doses annually.
Additionally, DFC’s Biswal signed an agreement to provide a $50-million loan to Vastu Housing Finance Corporation Limited, an affordable housing finance player in India.
The loan will finance the expansion of Vastu’s mortgage and home lending in India, which is expected to provide affordable home loans to more than 2,200 Indians, the majority of which are women borrowers.
Vastu will also provide roughly 1,000 loans to small businesses, the majority of which are expected to be owned or led by women.
Headquartered in Mumbai, Vastu provides affordable housing finance to lower- and middle-income segments and loans against properties to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India.
In July, US-based private equity firm TA Associates also made an undisclosed investment in Vastu Housing Finance.
Biswal said DFC’s partnership with India is both local and global.
“DFC is working to deliver concrete developmental impact for communities across India, and we are partnering with the Indian private sector to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” he said.
India is DFC’s largest market, with approximately $3.8 billion invested as of fiscal year 2023, including $820 million in new investments made last year.
Over the past three years, DFC has more than doubled its investments in the Indo-Pacific to over $9.5 billion, making it DFC’s fastest-growing region.
DFC approved 42 new projects totalling more than $5.1 billion in the quarter ended June 30, including projects worth at least $230 million across Asia.
