Astrid (IFC-51251)

Countries
  • India
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
C
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Apr 3, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Home First Finance Company Limited
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Equity
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 40.74 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS May 27, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Apr 16, 2025

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the proposed investment comprises a primary equity investment of up to INR3.48 billion (approximately US$40 million equivalent) in Home First Finance Company India Limited, a housing finance company focused on the affordable housing finance segment. This primary equity will strengthen the Company’s capital base and support balance sheet growth.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The project entails an IFC’s equity investment of up to US$40 million in Home First Finance Company India Limited (“HFFC”). The company provides home loans, loans against property, and shop loans to individuals in the lower income segment. Given the nature of the company’s operations, the level of E&S risks is considered as low. Hence, the project is categorized as Category FI-3 in accordance with IFC’s Environmental and Social Sustainability Policy. 

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The proposed investment comprises a primary equity investment of up to INR3.48 billion (approximately US$40 million equivalent) in Home First from IFC’s own account.

IFC's Investment as Approved by the Board: Equity 40.74 million (USD)

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Home First is an affordable housing finance company that primarily caters to first time home buyers in the underserved economically weaker sections (EWS), and low-income groups (LIG). The Company has assets under management (AUM) of US$1.4 billion as of 31 December 2024. It has wide presence, operating via a network of 149 branches and 359 touchpoints, covering 141 districts in 13 states and union territories of India, which enables it to reach these underserved customers.

The Company is currently listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) having a market capitalization of US$1.05 billion as of April 09, 2025. It has a diversified shareholding which comprises of promoters (14.3%), foreign institutional and foreign portfolio investors (48.8%), domestic financial institutions (19.6%), and public & others (17.3%), as of 31 December 2025.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Home First Finance Company Limited
Sunil Anjana
Treasury Head
+91 22 67425118
sunil.anjana@homefirstindia.com
Andheri East, Mumbai 400059, Maharashtra, India
https://homefirstindia.com/

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

How it works

How it works