Ratan Tata, Nandan Nilekani and Vijay Kelkar have come together to set up a technology-enabled microfinance entity, Avanti Finance.
It will focus on delivering affordable and timely credit to under-served and un-served segments in India.
The initiative aims to leverage on the social sector presence of Tata Trusts and other like minded partners and the rapidly evolving India Stack (Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile), UPI and payments bank ecosystem.
Tata and Nilekani are bringing in their investments from their respective philanthropic capital, and any gains will be reinvested in philanthropic causes.
Avanti Finance will apply for registration to the Reserve Bank of India in the coming days and will establish operations before the end of the financial year, it added.