Bharat Housing Network, a secured-lending technology platform, has raised $5 million through green bonds from Symbiotics, the Geneva-based impact investment firm. The investment forms part of a $75 million green basket bond programme that Symbiotics has established with British International Investment, the United Kingdom's development finance institution.
The funds will be deployed through the group's non-banking financial company, Singularity Creditworld, to finance rooftop solar installations, electric vehicles and clean-technology loans for small businesses. The deal, announced on 29 September 2026, is small by the standards of global climate finance. But it targets a segment that is often overlooked in the rush to finance large renewable energy projects: the millions of small enterprises whose energy choices collectively shape India's emissions.
The transaction also highlights a growing channel for climate capital into emerging markets, in which development finance institutions and impact investors bundle lending to smaller financial intermediaries into structured programmes that can reach borrowers far beyond the scope of conventional project finance.
Who Bharat Housing Network serves
Founded by Lalit Menghani, Madhusudan Sharma and Prasad Ajinkya, Bharat Housing Network operates a secured lending network that provides technology to lenders offering home loans, clean energy loans, vehicle loans and gold loans. The company says it has enabled ₹2,000 crore in credit to more than 40,000 borrowers.
The model reflects a broader trend in Indian financial services, in which technology platforms help smaller lenders originate, underwrite and manage loans more efficiently. By providing the infrastructure for credit assessment, documentation and collections, such platforms can extend formal credit to borrowers who have traditionally depended on informal moneylenders or lacked access to finance altogether.
Bharat Housing Network previously raised ₹125 crore in a Series A round led by NABVENTURES, the venture capital arm of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. That investment signalled institutional confidence in its approach to lending in semi-urban and rural India, where the need for affordable credit is greatest.
How green basket bonds work
A green basket bond pools investments in several financial institutions under a single programme, with the proceeds earmarked for environmentally beneficial lending. The structure allows a large investor, in this case British International Investment, to channel capital to multiple smaller lenders without the cost and complexity of negotiating separate transactions with each one.
Symbiotics, which specialises in connecting impact investors with financial institutions in emerging markets, acts as the arranger and manager of such programmes. It selects participating lenders, conducts due diligence, and monitors how the funds are used, including whether the resulting loans meet the agreed environmental criteria.
For participating lenders, the arrangement offers access to longer-term, mission-aligned capital that might otherwise be difficult to obtain. For investors, it provides diversification across several institutions and a way to demonstrate measurable climate outcomes.
Why small businesses matter for climate goals
India has set ambitious targets for its energy transition, including reaching 500 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel electricity generation capacity by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. Much of the public attention focuses on utility-scale solar and wind farms, many of which are financed by large corporations and infrastructure funds.
But the country's micro, small and medium enterprises, which number in the tens of millions, account for a significant share of industrial energy use and employment. Many operate with ageing equipment, rely on diesel generators during power cuts, and face high electricity tariffs. For these businesses, rooftop solar can lower energy costs and improve reliability, while electric vehicles can reduce fuel expenses for deliveries and transport.
The obstacle is often financing. Small businesses frequently lack the collateral, credit history or documentation that banks require for loans, particularly for assets such as solar panels that may be unfamiliar to traditional lenders. Specialised lenders that understand these borrowers and can assess the economics of clean-energy investments are essential to unlocking demand.
The rooftop solar opportunity
India's rooftop solar segment has grown rapidly in recent years, supported by government incentives such as the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana for households and state-level programmes for commercial users. Falling module prices and improving net-metering policies have made rooftop systems increasingly attractive for businesses seeking to reduce electricity costs.
Yet the commercial and industrial rooftop market still faces barriers, including the upfront cost of installation, uncertainty over regulatory changes, and a shortage of tailored financing. Dedicated lending programmes, such as the one supported by Symbiotics and British International Investment, can help bridge that gap by offering loans structured around the savings that solar installations generate.
## Measuring the green impact
One of the defining features of green bonds is the obligation to track and report on how the proceeds are used. Investors expect lenders to show that loans financed through the programme were spent on eligible assets, such as solar panels or electric vehicles, and increasingly to estimate the resulting emissions reductions. For a lender working with many small borrowers, that reporting requires robust data systems and clear eligibility criteria.
Technology-led lenders are well placed to meet those requirements. Digital loan origination and servicing platforms can capture detailed information about each asset financed, from the capacity of a rooftop installation to the model of an electric vehicle. That data can then be aggregated to provide investors with a credible picture of environmental outcomes, a capability that is becoming as important as credit performance in attracting climate-focused capital.
A template for blended climate finance
The deal illustrates how international development capital can reach grassroots borrowers through local intermediaries. British International Investment, formerly known as CDC Group, has made India one of its largest markets and has increasingly focused on climate finance. By working through specialist arrangers such as Symbiotics and technology-enabled lenders such as Bharat Housing Network, it can support a large number of small loans that would be impractical to finance directly.
For India's climate goals, this kind of distributed finance will be essential. The transition will require not only large power plants and transmission lines, but also millions of smaller investments by households and businesses in cleaner energy and transport. Channels that can efficiently deliver capital to those borrowers, while maintaining credit discipline and measuring environmental impact, will play a central role.
For Bharat Housing Network, the green bond gives it a new line of capital to expand its clean-energy lending and demonstrate that financial inclusion and climate action can reinforce each other. If the loans perform well and deliver measurable reductions in emissions, the model could attract larger allocations in future rounds of green financing.
