Portea Medical secures commitment for $7 mn loan guaranty facility from DFC

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DFC guaranty will be used to mobilize capital investments in equipment to cater to a wider customer base.

BENGALURU: Portea Medical secured a commitment from the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for a $7.7 million local currency guaranty facility to assure repayment of a rupee-denominated loan to be issued by a local commercial bank in India. The DFC-guaranteed loan will be used to support expansion of Portea Medical’s business through digitalization, broadening service offerings, increasing geographical coverage and developing innovative delivery channels for home-based healthcare, helping reduce pressure on the hospital system in India, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a report by RedSeer Consulting, the home healthcare industry in India is slated to grow to $11-$13 billion by 2025. The pandemic has further accelerated this growth. Portea Medical has an array of offerings and introduced services such as dialysis and chemotherapy at home during the pandemic. The company planning to expand its footprint across the country.

During the pandemic, Portea marshalled more than 1,000 healthcare workers and 500 doctors, directly and through partnerships, to deliver home isolation support for COVID-19 patients under agreements with the governments of Delhi, Karnataka, Haryana, Punjab, Chennai and local administrations. Portea has tended to over 4 lakhCOVID-19 positive patients to date.

In a statement, Meena Ganesh, co-founder, MD and chairperson of Portea Medical said, “DFC is well known for their focus on creating social impact through investment in businesses in areas including healthcare. DFC’s investments are spread across Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indo-Pacific, and emerging markets around the world. Their focus on low-and lower middle-income countries has ensured that organizations get the much-needed financial support for developmental projects. With such a reach, they have been instrumental in providing direct equity and support for investment funds, as well as direct loans and guarantees of up to $1 billion.”

“DFC is happy to support Portea Medical, a business co-founded by a woman, in bringing medical care to patients’ homes – an agility that is needed now more than ever as the pandemic continues to strain resources. Portea Medical’s continuous commitment to lifting underserved women out of poverty by training them for healthcare careers that will impact lives for generations is also commendable,” said Algene Sajery, DFC’s Vice President of the Office of External Affairs and Head of Global Gender Equity Initiatives, in a statement.

Setuka Partners LLP based out of Washington DC, led by Aman Khanna, served as the exclusive advisor to this transaction. The DFC guarantee will enable a local commercial bank in India to extend an equivalent of Rs 52 crore loan to Portea. The structure will help in mobilizing local capital for Portea and mitigates foreign exchange risk from Portea’s balance sheet.