The French asset manager has invested in Revfin, a Delhi-based non-banking financial company specialising in electric vehicle financing.
Paris-based sustainable asset manager Mirova has committed $15m (€12.8m) to Revfin, a Delhi-based non-banking financial company specialising in electric vehicle financing.
The transaction was made through the $325m Mirova Gigaton Fund, which employs a blended finance strategy dedicated to the energy transition in emerging countries. It takes the form of a senior secured unlisted debenture issued by Aristo, a type of unsecured debt issued by corporations or governments that relies on the issuer’s creditworthiness and reputation rather than collateral to support its value.
Sameer Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Revfin, said Mirova’s investment could not have been better timed.
“With the government strongly driving the agenda of 80 million EVs on the road by 2030, the onus is upon players like us to play a key role in accelerating efforts towards that mission,” he said.
This is the Mirova’s third e-mobility investment through the fund, and follows closely in the footsteps of a $10m (€9.75m) allocation announced last month into ARC Ride, which operates Africa’s first and largest automated e-mobility battery swapping network.
Investing in tier 2 and tier 3 cities
Revfin was founded in 2018 to provide retail loans for commercial e-rickshaws, small three-wheeled vehicles powered by an electric battery and motors, targeting financially excluded drivers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. This is a classification used in India to describe cities based on several parameters, including population size, economic activities and ranking in development indices, among others, with tier 1 cities being the most prosperous and with the largest populations.
Since 2023, Revfin has expanded into wholesale loans and fleet leasing for a broader range of EVs, including electric two, three and four‐wheel vehicles and batteries, primarily serving last-mile delivery operators in tier 1 cities.
“At Revfin, we are working towards increasing commercial EV adoption across form factors through easy and innovative financing,” said Aggarwal, referring to different physical specifications of EV components.
“While e-wheelers have led the transition so far, success must now transcend to other form factors with significant growth potential. This fund infusion will greatly support our mission and fuel the innovation needed to drive this goal.”
The company currently operates across 24 Indian states and partners with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), companies whose goods are used as components in the products of other companies, and their dealer networks to scale EV adoption. A significant minority of Revfin’s customers (28%) are women.
Clean and sustainable mobility transition
Mirova’s investment will be used to support Revfin’s on-lending activities for both individual and fleet electric vehicle financing, which it said would contribute to India’s transition toward clean and sustainable mobility.
The asset manager said the investment was aligned with the fund’s strategy to back high-impact climate and social solutions in emerging markets.
According to Mirova, Revfin has already enabled the deployment of over 68,000 electric vehicles, helping to avoid 137,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions. The company has also improved financial inclusion rates, with 77% of its 44,872 borrowers previously excluded from formal financial systems, it says.
