# Nordic Microfinance Initiative

> Nordic Microfinance Initiative is a VC fund backing Financial Services. See 19 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Oslo, Norway
- Total investments: 19
- Last investment: Sep 2022
- Lead investor: 53%
- Fund size: $105M
- Last fund: Jun 2018
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nordic-microfinance-initiative/
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/normicrofininit
- Website: http://www.nmimicro.no
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nordicmicrofinanceinitiative/

Nordic Microfinance Initiative is a VC fund in Oslo focused on Financial Services and Finance. The Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) is an innovative strategic partnership between the Norwegian public and private sectors that will invest in microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries and provide professional assistance and technical support for these institutions. The mission of NMI is to contribute to the empowerment ofpoor people and to the creation of jobs, wealth, and economic and social sustainability in developing countries by investing in and supporting MFIs.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Nordic Microfinance Initiative. Shizune tracks 1 team members at Nordic Microfinance Initiative. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/norwegian-microfinance-initiative?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Series B | $3.6M–$24M |
| Series C | $3.6M–$19M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Financial Services | 11 | 58% |
| Finance | 7 | 37% |
| Banking | 3 | 16% |
| FinTech | 2 | 11% |
| Retail | 1 | 5% |

12 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Funding Round | 6 | 32% |
| Series B | 3 | 16% |
| Series C | 2 | 11% |
| Series D | 2 | 11% |
| Debt Financing | 2 | 11% |

8 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| India | 10 | 53% |
| Uganda | 1 | 5% |
| Myanmar | 1 | 5% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Arthur Sletteberg | CEO and Managing Director | 7 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/arthur-sletteberg |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Light Microfinance | Light Microfinance is a non-banking finance company registered with the Reserve Bank of India. Headquartered at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Light Microfinance provides micro and meso finance products and services with gender and poverty-focused programs, targeting rural and peri-urban areas, with a specific focus on poor women. The company operates inGujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and is one of the fastest growing microfinance companies in India today. | $24.2M | Series B | Sep 22, 2022 |  |
| Sitara | Sewa Grih Rin provides affordable housing finance to the under-served low income households in urban and peri-urban locations.Incorporated in 2011, SEWA Grih Rin Limited was envisaged as a means for the under-served households to access affordable and formal housing finance in urban & peri-urban locations. We learnt that low-income householdsheld two facets of their life very close to their heart: they treasured the education of their children; and aspired to self-own a property, a home of their own.SEWA Grih Rin Limited’s work is aimed at directly improving the quality of life of informally employed households, especially their women members, by creating a tangible financial asset in their name. We provide an affordable alternative to those households whose credit capacity falls behind the widening financing gap given the informal nature of their employment. | $1.5M | Secondary Market | Jul 13, 2022 |  |
| Sitara | Sewa Grih Rin provides affordable housing finance to the under-served low income households in urban and peri-urban locations.Incorporated in 2011, SEWA Grih Rin Limited was envisaged as a means for the under-served households to access affordable and formal housing finance in urban & peri-urban locations. We learnt that low-income householdsheld two facets of their life very close to their heart: they treasured the education of their children; and aspired to self-own a property, a home of their own.SEWA Grih Rin Limited’s work is aimed at directly improving the quality of life of informally employed households, especially their women members, by creating a tangible financial asset in their name. We provide an affordable alternative to those households whose credit capacity falls behind the widening financing gap given the informal nature of their employment. | $18.5M | Series C | Jul 12, 2022 |  |
| Tugende | Tugende helps motorcycle taxi drivers own their own motorcycles in eighteen months or less instead of renting indefinitely. Ownership significantly increases income, job security and road safety. | $17M | Debt Financing | Dec 20, 2021 |  |
| Light Microfinance | Light Microfinance is a non-banking finance company registered with the Reserve Bank of India. Headquartered at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Light Microfinance provides micro and meso finance products and services with gender and poverty-focused programs, targeting rural and peri-urban areas, with a specific focus on poor women. The company operates inGujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and is one of the fastest growing microfinance companies in India today. | $10.1M | Series A | Jul 20, 2021 |  |
| Svasti Microfinance | Operating in the urban slums of Mumbai, Svasti is a startup NBFC-MFI innovatively using technology and focusing on product design. Its microfinance program was started in October 2008. The Indian microfinance market is still largely under-penetrated, and the market is very fragmented with over 1500+ MFIs, but only a handful have an NBFC formallowing to receive equity investments like Svatsi. | $4.3M | Venture - Series Unknown | Mar 11, 2021 |  |
| Proximity Finance | Proximity Finance, one of the country’s few farmer-facing microfinance institutions, serves the financial needs of about 100,000 households. The firm aims to nearly double that number over the next five years and have dispersed one million loans. | $14M |  | Jul 01, 2020 |  |
| Sindhuja Microcredit | Sindhuja Microcredit is a new generation digital and rural-focused Micro Finance Institution (MFI) providing financial services to the bottom of the pyramid self-employed women entrepreneurs. | $8.7M | Series B | May 11, 2020 |  |
| Svasti Microfinance | Operating in the urban slums of Mumbai, Svasti is a startup NBFC-MFI innovatively using technology and focusing on product design. Its microfinance program was started in October 2008. The Indian microfinance market is still largely under-penetrated, and the market is very fragmented with over 1500+ MFIs, but only a handful have an NBFC formallowing to receive equity investments like Svatsi. | $10M |  | Nov 10, 2019 |  |
| Dvara KGFS | Dvara KGFS is building and supporting local, geographically focused community financial services institutions called Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (KGFS). | $8.3M |  | Sep 30, 2019 |  |

10 of 19 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Aavishkaar Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/aavishkaar-goodwell) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Oikocredit International](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/oikocredit-international) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [British International Investment](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/british-international-investment) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [HDFC Holdings](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/hdfc-holdings) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Incofin Investment Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/incofin-investment-management) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Lok Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/lok-capital-2) — VC Fund, 2 deals together

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## FAQ

### What does Nordic Microfinance Initiative invest in?

Nordic Microfinance Initiative invests primarily in Financial Services, Finance and Banking startups, most often at Funding Round and Series B stage. Most of the 19 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in India. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Nordic Microfinance Initiative's check size?

Nordic Microfinance Initiative typically joins rounds of $3.6M–$24M at Series B and $3.6M–$19M at Series C. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Nordic Microfinance Initiative participates in.

### How do I contact Nordic Microfinance Initiative?

Public channels for Nordic Microfinance Initiative include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Nordic Microfinance Initiative?

The team at Nordic Microfinance Initiative includes Arthur Sletteberg (CEO and Managing Director). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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