Press Release May 28, 2026 AKARA CAPITAL ADVISORS PRIVATE LIMITED Rating Assigned

Product	Quantum (Rs. Cr) (SEBI)	Quantum (Rs. Cr) (Other FSR)	Long Term Rating	Short Term Rating	Regulated By
Bank Loan Ratings	0.00	300.00	ACUITE BBB+ | Stable | Assigned	-	RBI
Total Outstanding	0.00	300.00	-	-	-
Total Withdrawn	0.00	0.00	-	-	-

Note:- For activities or ratings of instruments falling under the purview of Financial Sector Regulators other than SEBI, the grievance / dispute redressal mechanisms and investor protection mechanisms provided by SEBI shall not be available.

Rating Rationale

­Acuité has assigned the long term rating of ‘ACUITE BBB+’ (read as ACUITE triple B plus) on the Rs.300.00 Cr. Proposed bank facilities of Akara Capital Advisors Private Limited. The outlook is ‘Stable’. Rationale for Rating The rating is supported by the experienced management team, parent support, and healthy capitalisation, reflected in a consolidated net worth of about Rs 820.82 Cr. and a CAR of 21.60 percent as on March 31, 2026 (provisional), along with demonstrated capital-raising ability. However, the rating is constrained by the company’s moderate scale of operations, with AUM of Rs 2,799.22 Cr., and moderately elevated asset quality, with GNPA at 4.40 percent, which remain key monitorables going forward.

About the Company

Delhi based, Akara Capital Advisors Private Limited was incorporated in 2016. The company is engaged primarily in providing unsecured personal loans to salaried and self employed individuals through a digital platform, StashFin.  The Executive directors of the company are Mr. Tushar Aggarwal, Mrs. Shruti Aggarwal. ACAPL is engaged in lending customized personal loan products ranging Rs.0.01 lacs to Rs.5 lacs, primarily to salaried and self employed customer segment. The company is originating and disbursing loan through ‘Stashfin’, a platform developed and operated by group company, EQX Analytics Private Limited (EAPL). The company’s AUM stood at Rs.2799.22 Cr. as on March 2026 (Prov.), comprising of owned portfolio of Rs.2791.44 Cr. which forms majority of their loan book with the remaining forming their off book.

About the Group

Morus Technologies Pte Limited (MTPL) is a Singapore based company that commenced its operations in 2017. Akara Capital Advisors Private Limited ( ACAPL) and EQX Analaytics Private Limited ( EAPL) are wholly owned subsidiaries of Morus Technologies Pte Limited. ACAPL is engaged in providing lending through the tech services offered by EAPL. MTPL is promoted by promoted by Mr. Tushar Aggarwal and is backed by investors like Tencent Cloud Europe BV, Altara Ventures and Uncorrelated Ventures and senior investment professionals of KKR. EQX Analytics Private Limited:  Delhi based, EQX Analytics Private Limited was incorporated in 2016. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Morus Technologies and houses the financial services platform ‘Stashfin’ which provides lending, wealth, insurance and payment solutions to individuals in India.

Unsupported Rating

­Not Applicable

Analytical Approach

Extent of Consolidation

•Full Consolidation

Rationale for Consolidation or Parent / Group / Govt. Support

­Acuité has considered the consolidated business and financial risk profile of the EQX Analytics Private Limited and Akara Capital Advisors Private Limited to arrive at this rating. This approach is in view of the interlinkages between tech businesses (‘Stashfin’ app, owned by EQX Analytics Private Limited (EAPL)), and the NBFC lending arm (ACAPL). However, Acuite notes the capital support and ownership benefit derived from MTPL (Morus Technologies Private Limited).

Key Rating Drivers

Strength

­Experienced promoters coupled with demonstrated fund raising ability MTPL, the holding company of ACAPL, is promoted by Mr. Tushar Aggarwal (Co-founder and CEO) and Mrs. Shruti Aggarwal  (Co-founder) both of whom bring over 20 years of experience in their respective domains—Investment Banking and Private Equity in the case of Mr.  Tushar Aggarwal, with prior roles at Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, General Atlantic, and Everstone, and Mrs. Shruti Aggarwal has over two decades of experience in financial services and entrepreneurship, including more than seven years in the NBFC sector. She has worked as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch in New York and PwC in India, executing transactions exceeding $1 billion, and is a Chartered Accountant. ACAPL operates a data-driven lending model through the ‘Stashfin’ platform, developed and managed by EAPL, which facilitates lending partnerships with NBFCs, including ACAPL. Since inception, MTPL has raised approximately USD 99 million in funding, including its latest capital infusion in 2022, from a mix of promoters and reputed investors such as Tencent Cloud Europe B.V., Uncorrelated Ventures, Fasanara Capital and senior professionals from KKR, along with other individual investors. MTPL at a consolidated basis gets audited by Ernst & Young (EY). Acuité believes that ACAPL’s business risk profile is positively supported by the expertise of its promoters and the continued backing of its investors. On the debt side, the company has an outstanding which stood at Rs. 2245.98 Cr. as of March 2026, which comprises of listed NCDs which contribute 47.60 percent of the outstanding debt, followed by ECBs at 26.13 percent , PTCs and Commercial papers at 18.2 percent and remaining being Bank term loans and Inter Corporate Deposits.  Adequate Capitalisation and Gearing At the consolidated level, the net worth stood at approximately Rs.820.82 Cr., with a gearing of 2.76 times as on March 31, 2026 (provisional). The capitalisation profile is supported by cumulative capital infusion of USD 99 million at the holding company level, a significant portion of which has been periodically downstreamed into ACAPL. As a result, ACAPL’s standalone net worth stood at Rs. 822.47 Cr. as of March 31, 2026 (provisional), translating into a Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 21.60 percent (Tier I capital) of 20.35 percent and a gearing of 2.74 times. This compares with a CAR of 43.29 percent and gearing of 1.20 times as on March 31, 2022. Despite the moderation in capital ratios over the period, the current capitalisation and gearing levels provide adequate headroom for ACAPL to pursue its growth strategy. However, Acuité believes that continued and timely equity infusions will remain critical not only to support sustained growth but also to maintain comfortable CAR levels and gearing in line with business expansion.

Weakness

Moderate Operating Profile with Asset Quality Risks ACAPL commenced operations in 2017, with AUM increasing to Rs. 2,799.22 Cr. as on March 31, 2026 (provisional) from Rs. 1,727.72 Cr. as on March 31, 2025 and Rs. 558.89 Cr. as on March 31, 2022. The decline in FY2025 was driven by a strategic shift towards on-book exposures following RBI’s DLG guidelines and higher risk weights on unsecured personal loans. Asset quality remains elevated, with GNPA at 4.40 percent in FY2026 and 4.33 percent in FY2025 (4.02 percent in FY2022). Collection efficiency during January–March 2026 stood at around 88.5 percent. While write-offs as a percentage of disbursements moderated to 5.7 percent in FY2026 from 9.63 percent in FY2025. Write off policy for the company is 180+ DPD. Going forward, asset quality trends, collection efficiency, and write-offs will remain key monitorable as ACAPL scales up its unsecured loan portfolio. Subdued Earnings Profile At the combined level, reported modest profitability, with profits of Rs. 33.54 Cr. in FY2026 (provisional), largely stable compared to Rs. 32.73 Cr. in FY2025 and Rs 29.39 Cr. in FY2024. The subdued consolidated profitability was primarily due to losses at the tech entity (EQX), arising from a change in borrower profile with no disbursements to NTC borrowers which generated higher lead fee to EQX in the past financial year. At the standalone level, ACAPL reported profits of Rs 81.28 Cr. in FY2026 (provisional) compared to Rs. 84.84 Cr. in FY2025 (Rs. 6.49 Cr. in FY2022). While Acuite takes note of the recent uptick in disbursements and its positive impact on profitability metrics, the ability to contain losses at the tech entity while scaling up the lending portfolio will remain a key monitorable for sustained long-term growth.

ESG Factors Relevant for Rating

­ACAPL belongs to the NBFC sector which continues to complement the efforts of banks in enhancing small ticket retail lending in India. Some of the material governance issues for the financial services sector are policies and practices with regard to business ethics, board diversity and independence, compensation structure for board and KMPs, role of the audit committee and shareholders’ rights. On the social aspect, some of the critical issues for the sector are the contributions to financial inclusion and community development, responsible financing including environmentally friendly projects and policies around data privacy. The industry, by nature has a low exposure to environmental risks. The entity has made adequate disclosures regarding its policies on related party transactions. It also adheres to Reserve Bank of India’s Fair Practices Code and has the necessary interest rate and grievance redressal policies. MTPL's board of directors consist of 5 directors. ACAPL provides personal loans through the 'Stashfin' platform. The company aims to make credit highly accessible to the salaried and self-employed segment through adoption of technology.

Rating Sensitivity

Potential triggers (individual or collective) for an upward rating action:

Significant growth in AUM and disbursements Significant improvement in profitability metrics Periodic infusion of capital

Potential triggers (individual or collective) for a downward rating action:

­ Deterioration in asset quality metrics Write off to disbursements exceeding 8-9 percent

Liquidity Position

Adequate

ACAPL reported adequate liquidity profile as on March 31, 2026 (Prov.) with no negative cumulative mismatches in near to medium term. The cash and cash equivalents along with unencumbered Fixed deposit balances stood at Rs.205.93 crore as on March 31, 2026 (Prov.) on a standalone level and its debt obligations stood at Rs.568.06 Cr. for 6 months starting March 2026, while collections from advances stand at Rs.1015.94 Cr. in the same period.

Outlook: Stable

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Other Factors affecting Rating

­None

Key Financials - Standalone / Originator

­ Particulars Unit FY26 (Prov) FY25 (Actual) Total Assets Rs. Cr. 3119.32    1808.21       Total Income* Rs. Cr. 705.87      560.40       PAT Rs. Cr. 81.28   84.84       Net Worth Rs. Cr. 822.47    692.59       Return on Average Assets (RoAA) (%) 3.30 5.12      Return on Average Net Worth (RoNW) (%) 10.73      13.20      Debt/Equity Times 2.74    1.54    Gross NPA (Owned portfolio) (%) 4.40 4.33  Net NPA (Owned portfolio) (%) 1.26 1.51    *Total income equals to Net Interest Income plus other income *Ratios as per Acuite Calculations

Key Financials (Consolidated)

­ACAPL+ EAPL Consolidated Particulars Unit FY26 (Prov) FY25 (Actual) Total Assets Rs. Cr. 3159.35    1860.62      Total Income* Rs. Cr. 753.92       587.28       PAT Rs. Cr. 33.54     32.73      Net Worth Rs. Cr. 820.82  717.09       Return on Average Assets (RoAA) (%) 1.34    1.91    Return on Average Net Worth (RoNW) (%) 4.36    4.85    Debt/Equity Times 2.76    1.49    *Total income equals to Net Interest Income plus other income. *Ratios as per Acuite Calculations

Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA (if applicable)

­None

Any Other Information

­None

Applicable Criteria

• Non-Banking Financing Entities: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-44.htm • Default Recognition: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-52.htm • Application Of Financial Ratios And Adjustments: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-53.htm • Consolidation Of Companies: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-60.htm

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument

­In order to inform the investors about complexity of instruments, Acuité has categorized such instruments in three levels: Simple, Complex and Highly Complex. Acuite’s categorisation of the instruments across the three categories is based on factors like variability of the returns to the investors, uncertainty in cash flow patterns, number of counterparties and general understanding of the instrument by the market. It has to be understood that complexity is different from credit risk and even an instrument categorized as 'Simple' can carry high levels of risk. For more details, please refer Rating Criteria “Complexity Level Of Financial Instruments” on www.acuite.in.

Rating History

Date Name of Instruments/Facilities Term Amount (Rs. Cr) Rating/Outlook 11 Jul 2024 Term Loan Long Term 10.00 ACUITE Not Applicable (Withdrawn) 28 Jun 2024 Term Loan Long Term 10.00 ACUITE BB+ (CE) (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BBB (CE)) 29 Dec 2023 Term Loan Long Term 10.00 ACUITE BBB (CE) (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE A- (CE) | Stable) Proposed Term Loan Long Term 25.00 ACUITE Not Applicable (Withdrawn) Proposed Term Loan Long Term 15.00 ACUITE Not Applicable (Withdrawn) Proposed Term Loan Long Term 100.00 ACUITE Not Applicable (Withdrawn)

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*Annexure 2 - List of Entities (applicable for Consolidation or Parent / Group / Govt. Support)

Sr.No. Company Name 1 Akara Capital Advisors Private Limited (ACAPL) 2 Morus Technologies Pte Limited (MTPL) 3 EQX Analytics Private Limited (EAPL) ­

Contacts

Mohit Jain Chief Analytical Officer - Rating Operations Nattasha Venkatesh Analyst - Rating Operations	Contact details exclusively for investors and lenders Mob: +91 8591310146 Email ID: analyticalsupport@acuite.in

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