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Premji Invest, Norwest and Lok Capital commit up to Rs 1,000 Cr to Vegafin for Bizloan majority stake
Former ICICI Bank executive Bijith Bhaskar's AI-led MSME lending platform will start with Gurugram NBFC Bizloan, subject to regulatory approvals, and plans a hybrid digital-plus-branch model.
Premji Invest, Norwest and Lok Capital have committed up to Rs 1,000 crore to Vegafin, an MSME lending platform founded by former ICICI Bank executive Bijith Bhaskar, LiveMint, The Times of India and Moneycontrol reported on October 21, 2026. A Premji Invest press release said the investors will back an AI-first MSME lending platform that begins with the acquisition of a majority stake in Gurugram-based Bizloan, a non-banking finance company focused on secured MSME loans. The Bizloan investment is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Bizloan operates across five states through more than 35 branches and manages assets under management of about Rs 235 crore, according to the joint statement summarised by LiveMint and TOI. It was founded in 2018 by Rahul Jain, Abhishek Mishra and Vikram Diwan. Existing investor BLinC Invest will remain, while Mohan Enterprises and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation will exit. EY Investment Banking was the exclusive financial advisor on the transaction.
Vegafin says it will combine AI-driven underwriting, digital workflows and data-led credit decisioning with an on-ground branch network. Bhaskar told TOI that acquiring an operating lender could save 18 to 24 months versus building from scratch, and that Vegafin will focus on loans of about Rs 8 lakh to Rs 30 lakh for kirana stores, hardware shops, pharmacies and similar small businesses that may lack fully formalised income papers. He said the company aims to triple current AUM over the next 12 to 18 months and to enter two or three more states in six to 12 months.
Bhaskar put India's MSME credit gap at more than Rs 30 lakh crore and described a hybrid "phygital" model that uses branch staff plus AI assessment to price risk more accurately. Bloomberg, carried by Moneycontrol, framed the Premji family office commitment at about $106 million. Until approvals clear and the majority stake closes, Vegafin remains a platform plan wrapped around a signed deal rather than a completed combination.
