Astanova Mobility said on October 15, 2026 that its lending arm NovaFusion Capital has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC). Founder and CEO Kunal Mundra told PTI the company is targeting ₹5,000 crore in assets under management (AUM) over the next five years.
“Our aspiration really is to deploy ₹5,000 crore worth of financing in the next five years. It will be primarily for electric vehicles and only for commercial operators. That means everyone who earns a livelihood with the help of these assets,” Mundra said.
Startup funding India news: climate lending goes regulated
NovaFusion Capital CEO Shraddha Srimal said the focus will be on financing India's transition to electric mobility – and beyond that, any climate-positive assets where commercial transition creates credit demand. She flagged that India will need an estimated $100 billion to transition its commercial vehicles to electric, arguing the opportunity is to build a new credit architecture for clean mobility, not just finance more vehicles.
The NBFC licence moves Astanova from leasing and asset management into direct, regulated lending – underwriting on asset utilisation, telematics and the income-generating capacity of the vehicle, rather than the borrower's traditional credit history.
Why it matters for founders
An RBI licence is the ultimate unlock in Indian fintech: it turns a marketplace into a balance-sheet business. For founders in EV, solar or other climate assets, this is the blueprint – prove the asset generates income, build underwriting on telematics and utilisation data, then graduate from partner balance sheets to your own NBFC.