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| Product | Quantum (Rs. Cr) | Long Term Rating | Short Term Rating |
| Bank Loan Ratings | 186.43 | ACUITE BB+ | Negative | Downgraded | - |
| Non Convertible Debentures (NCD) | 97.00 | ACUITE BB+ | Negative | Downgraded | - |
| Total Outstanding | 283.43 | - | - |
| Total Withdrawn | 0.00 | - | - |
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Rating Rationale |
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Acuité has downgraded the long-term rating of ‘ACUITE BBB-’ (read as ACUITE triple B minus) to ACUITE BB+’ (read as ACUITE double B plus) on the Rs. 186.43 Cr. bank loan facilities of Ananya Finance for Inclusive Growth Private Limited (ANANYA). The outlook has been revised from 'Stable' to ‘Negative’.
Acuité has downgraded the long-term rating of ‘ACUITE BBB-’ (read as ACUITE triple B minus) to ‘ACUITE BB+’ (read as ACUITE double B plus) on the Rs. 97.00 Cr. on non-convertible debentures of ANANYA. The outlook has been revised from 'Stable' to ‘Negative’. Rationale for rating The downgrade in the rating reflects a significant deterioration in ANANYA earnings profile, asset quality, and capital adequacy over the past fiscal year. The company reported a net loss of Rs.34.73 crore in FY25, a sharp reversal from a modest profit of Rs.1.13 crore in FY24. This decline is primarily attributed to elevated credit costs and provisioning expenses, which surged to Rs.47.10 crore in FY25 from Rs.1.58 crore in FY24, indicating rising stress in the loan portfolio. The Return on Average Assets (RoAA) declined to -5.88% in FY25 from 0.20% in FY24, while Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) and Return on Total Assets (ROTA) also turned negative, reflecting weakened operational efficiency and profitability. Asset quality remains a concern, with GNPA at 2.03% and NNPA at 1.45% as of FY24. Although GNPA improved to 0.58% in FY25, the improvement is partly due to aggressive write-offs and provisioning, rather than a fundamental recovery in collections. Credit costs rose to 13.76% in FY25 from 0.38% in FY24, further straining the earnings profile. The rating takes into account experienced management and support from existing investor Gojo & Company. |
| About the company |
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Ahmedabad-based Ananya Finance for Inclusive Growth Private Limited (Ananya) was incorporated in 2009 and started its operations in 2010. Ananya is an NBFC set up by Friends of Women’s World Banking – India (FWWB). Ananya started operations by taking over FWWB’s Wholesale Microfinance Institution lending portfolio in April 2010. The NBFC has a diversified portfolio across Microfinance, Agrifinance and Impact MSME. Ananya operates through its headquarters in Ahmedabad and 25 partner branches from its co-lending/BC partnership as on March 31, 2025. Ananya started with wholesale lending to financial institutions engaged in micro-credit loans in 2010, expanding its lending activities to the agriculture sector in January 2015 and direct lending to individuals through NBFC & NBFC-MFIs in September 2020.
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| Unsupported Rating |
| Not Applicable. |
| Analytical Approach |
| Acuité has considered the standalone business and financial risk profile of Ananya for the rating. |
| Key Rating Drivers |
| Strength |
| Experienced Management and Strong Promoter Support
Ananya Finance for Inclusive Growth continues to benefit from an experienced leadership team and reputed investors. The company is led by Mr. Gaurav Gupta (Managing Director), with over two decades of banking experience. Gojo & Company Inc. holds a majority stake of 72.93% and has infused Rs.58.13 crore in equity since 2018. Comfortable Capitalization and Diversified Funding Base Ananya reported a healthy CRAR of 28.47% (Tier I: 25.01%) as on March 31, 2025, indicating a comfortable capital buffer. The debt-to-equity ratio stood at 3.02x in FY25 from 3.13x in FY24, reflecting improved leverage. The company maintains funding relationships with 21 lenders, including public and private sector banks, NBFCs, PSUs, and DFIs, supporting its liquidity and growth prospects. |
| Weakness |
| Weak Earnings Profile
Ananya’s profitability remains subdued, with the company reporting a net loss of Rs.34.73 crore in FY25, compared to a profit of Rs.1.13 crore in FY24. Key return metrics such as RoAA and RoTA declined to -5.88% and -6.39% respectively in FY25, reflecting deterioration in operational efficiency. Despite an improvement in Net Interest Margin to 11.63% in FY25, elevated credit costs and provisioning expenses continue to weigh on the bottom line. Deterioration in Asset Quality Asset quality weakened during FY25, with provisioning and write-offs rising sharply to Rs.47.10 crore from Rs.1.58 crore in FY24. Although GNPA improved to 0.58% in FY25 from 2.03% in FY24, the improvement is largely attributed to aggressive provisioning rather than recovery in collections. Credit costs surged to 13.76% in FY25, indicating heightened stress in the underlying portfolio. Portfolio Stress and Covenant Breaches Ananya Finance’s credit profile remains constrained by significant deterioration in asset quality and operational metrics. Key financial covenants were breached as of September 2025, with PAR >30 days and >90 days exceeding sanctioned thresholds and write-off ratios rising sharply to double-digit levels. The company reported negative profitability during the review period due to elevated credit costs and provisioning, while seeking multiple covenant relaxations and waivers until March 2026. These factors underscore persistent stress in portfolio quality and operational resilience. |
| ESG Factors Relevant for Rating |
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Ananya Finance for Inclusive Growth Private Limited belongs to the NBFC sector which facilitates lending to the unbanked population. 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 maintains adequate transparency in its business ethics practices as can be inferred from the entity’s disclosures regarding related party transactions, vigil mechanism and whistle blower policy. The board of directors of the company comprises of 2 independent directors who are women directors as wel out of a total of 5 directors. The audit committee formed by the entity majorly comprises independent directors with the objective to monitor and provide an unbiased supervision of the management’s financial reporting process. Ananya also maintains transparency in terms of disclosures pertaining to interest rate policy and its adherence to Fair Practice Code as enunciated by Reserve Bank of India's circular. Ananya aims to empower women by providing micro loans to help them generate additional income opportunities, hence making an economic contribution by way of financial inclusion. It continues to work on several community development initiatives and has also developed a social performance management system to facilitate financial stability of its staff and clients. As per RBI’s guidelines on Information Technology framework for NBFCs, Ananya has put in place checks and balances to ensure adequate control over issues like cyber security and data privacy.
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| Rating Sensitivity |
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| All Covenants |
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The Issuer shall maintain that, on the last day of each calendar quarter (the "Testing Date"), it complies with the following covenants:
1. Portfolio Quality (On Standalone and Consolidated Basis) a. PAR > 30 days = 4% till the redemption of debentures b. PAR > 90 days = 3.5% till the redemption of debentures c. PAR90+ Restructured Loan Ratio = 5% till the redemption of debentures d. Write-off Ratio below 2% till the redemption of debentures 2. Loan Loss Reserve Ratio ( On Standalone and Consolidated Basis) a) For the loan book generated by the Issuer (and/or Prayas), Loan Loss Reserve Ratio = 100% of PAR > 90 days till the redemption of debentures b) Save for the above, Loan Loss Reserve Ratio = 60% of PAR = 90 days till the redemption of the debentures 3. Capital Adequacy Ratio (On Standalone and Consolidated Basis) a. Risk-weighted CAR > 20% or 5% above regulatory requirement whichever is higher b. Debt/Equity = 4.5 4. Un-hedged open foreign currency ratio < 25% of tier 1 capital (On Standalone and Consolidated Basis) 5. Profitability (On Standalone and Consolidated Basis) a. Cost to Income Ratio < 80% (to be tested from Mar-26) b. Operational Self Sufficiency Ratio = 100% Definitions: “Portfolio at Risk greater than 30 days or PAR > 30” shall mean, in a district or a branch or on the Borrower's Gross Loan Portfolio at any point of time, as the case may be, the outstanding principal value of the Borrower's portfolio that has one or more instalments of principal, interest, penalty interest, fee or any other expected payments overdue for 30 days or more. “Portfolio at Risk greater than 90 days or PAR > 90” shall mean, in a district or a branch or on the Borrower's Gross Loan Portfolio at any point of time, as the case may be, the outstanding principal value of the Borrower's portfolio that has one or more instalments of principal, interest, penalty interest, fee or any other expected payments overdue for 90 days or more. “Write Off Ratio” shall mean the ratio of (i) the total value of loans written off in the preceding 12 (twelve) months to (ii) the average gross loan portfolio, as presented in the Company’s consolidated financial statements, where ‘average gross loan portfolio’ are calculated as the sum of GLP at period end 12 (twelve) months prior + GLP at period end now)/2. “Loan Loss Reserve Ratio of PAR 30 days” shall mean the ratio of (a) loan loss reserve or allowance for impairment losses, to (b) loans or other borrowed money with respect to which the debtor has not made the scheduled payments for at least 30 (thirty) days. “Loan Loss Reserve Ratio of PAR 90 days” shall mean the ratio of (a) loan loss reserve or allowance for impairment losses, to (b) loans or other borrowed money with respect to which the debtor has not made the scheduled payments for at least 90 (ninety) days. "Loan Loss Allowance" shall mean a contra asset account on the balance sheet created in anticipation of losses due to default. “Capital Adequacy Ratio” calculated in accordance with the applicable regulations of the RBI. “Un-hedged Open Foreign Currency Ratio” shall mean the ratio of (a) the Dollar equivalent of non-local currency liabilities minus non-local currency assets, to (b) the Dollar equivalent of the Company’s equity, as presented in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. “Cost to Income Ratio” shall mean the ratio of (a) operating expenses to (b) the sum of net interest income after impairment losses and other income (net), as presented in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. “Gross Loan Portfolio” means and includes the outstanding principal amounts of the loans on its own books, either originated by the Borrower or purchased as a part of its securitized portfolio “Operational Self Sufficiency Ratio” shall mean the ratio of (i) the sum of interest income and other operating income to (ii) the sum of interest or financial expenses, operating expenses, and loan loss provisions or impairment losses, as presented in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. “Debt to Equity Ratio” shall mean the ratio of Indebtedness to Equity. “Equity” shall mean the total equity of the Company and its subsidiaries (if any) on a consolidated basis. “Indebtedness” shall, with respect to a Person, mean any obligation (whether incurred as principal or as surety) for the payment or repayment of money, whether present or future, actual or contingent, incurred by such Person. |
| Liquidity Position |
| Adequate |
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Ananya’s overall liquidity profile remains adequate with no negative cumulative mismatches in near to medium term as per ALM dated March 31, 2025. The company has cash and cash equivalents of Rs. 141.66 Cr. as on March 31, 2025. The company is in talks with new and existing lenders to further aid its disbursements and liquidity.
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| Outlook: |
| Negative. |
| Other Factors affecting Rating |
| None. |
| Key Financials - Standalone / Originator | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA (if applicable): |
| Not Applicable |
| Any other information |
| None. |
| Applicable Criteria |
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• Application Of Financial Ratios And Adjustments: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-53.htm • Default Recognition: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-52.htm • Non-Banking Financing Entities: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-44.htm |
| Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument |
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