Save Microfinance Pvt. Ltd. (SMPL), part of the SAVE Group, has raised $3 million through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) under the Women’s Livelihood Bond 7 (WLB7), managed by the Singapore-based Impact Investment Exchange (IIX). The funding will support low-income women entrepreneurs across India while strengthening the company’s financial structure and advancing its mission of inclusive growth.
Expanding Access to Women Entrepreneurs
SMPL intends to utilize the proceeds to increase credit outreach in underserved rural areas, improve the liability profile, and diversify the funding base. The company employs the joint-liability group (JLG) lending model, which holds borrowers collectively accountable and decreases the risk of non-repayment. With an enlarged portfolio, SMPL will be in a better position to empower women entrepreneurs, support families, and enhance livelihoods.
Company officials have emphasized that the new raise will also bolster financial literacy initiatives, helping borrowers make informed decisions about credit, savings, and investments. This focus aligns with India’s growing need for last-mile financial inclusion, particularly for women who remain outside the formal banking system.
WLB7: The Largest in the Series
Women’s Livelihood Bond 7 is the most recent and largest issuance in IIX’s award-winning WLB series. It will be structured as a two-tranche program, with the first tranche called an effort to mobilize $60 million. This is an unprecedented and ambitious opportunity at this scale as its expected reach will include contributions toward the impact of more than 773,000 underserved women across India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka in a variety of sectors such as financial inclusion, agriculture, clean energy, and water and sanitation.
WLB7 is listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and has been evaluated by Sustainable Fitch, confirming alignment with international standards such as the Orange Bond Principles, the Green and Social Bond Principles, and the Sustainability Bond Guidelines issued by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). The bond structure also adheres to EU and UK securitization regulations, ensuring safeguards for investors and issuers.
Strong Global Backing
In July 2025, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) made its first-ever investment in the WLB series by committing $10 million to WLB7. Additionally, IFC contributed $4.5 million in subordinated debt to the IIX Women’s Catalyst Fund through Canada’s GROW facility, providing de-risking support to attract more private sector investors.
Other institutional supporters included development agencies, philanthropic organizations, and impact investors, which speaks to the global confidence we are placing in IIX’s blended-finance model. The collective response of support addresses a broader trend in gender-lens investing, funding explicitly focused on advancing and facilitating women’s economic participation.
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SAVE Microfinance and the SAVE Group
Founded in 2017, SMPL is a regulated NBFC-MFI headquartered in Gaya, Bihar, with a registered office in New Delhi. It operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAVE Solutions Pvt. Ltd., which also runs businesses in MSME lending and affordable housing finance.
The SAVE Group has consistently drawn investor confidence. In 2024, global impact investors Incofin and Maj Invest jointly committed $13 million to the group’s expansion, supporting its wider vision of financial empowerment at the grassroots.
Why This Matters?
The $3 million investment via WLB7 gives SMPL the ability to reduce liabilities, scale appropriately and strengthen its balance sheet, while continuing its commitment to responsible lending. The funding will contribute to financial and social targets by directly supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) including SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
For IIX, WLB7 extends its pioneering model of blended finance. Since the launch of the Women’s Livelihood Bond series in 2017, IIX has mobilized nearly $500 million, positively impacted over 160 million lives, and contributed to climate action by helping avoid more than 1.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions across 60 countries.
Eliminating Gender Gaps
Given their increasing demand for rural microfinance, SMPL’s involvement in WLB7 is seen as a movement to eliminate gender gaps in financial inclusion. The company is hoping to deliver long-term sustainable change in the communities they serve by marrying access to affordable credit with financial literacy and entrepreneurship support.
With WLB7 unfolding, SAVE Microfinance suggested in their role put simply how both specific funding and global blended-finance frameworks can catalyze female empowerment, invigorate rural economies, and generate a multiplier effect for families and communities as a whole.
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