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Secova Signs Innovative Venture Lending Deal With Citigroup
Chennai, August 25, 2005
Secova eServices, headquartered in Chennai and exclusively focused on HR BPO, today announced that it has signed an innovative venture lending deal with Citigroup India. The funding, structured as a term loan with an additional small pledge of stock warrants, will enable Secova to continue its pioneering work in the HR BPO space.
Secova plans to use this funding to aggressively expand. In the last one year, Secova has brought US based Empact EBS into its fold and has added 5 clients and increased its order book by 70 %. The new clients add up to about 200,000 employees, who are now being serviced by Secova. Additionally, more than 40% of the work is now being done out of India. As Secova grows its business, this number is expected to further increase rapidly.
Elaborating on the concept of venture lending, Sanjay Nayar, Citigroup Country Officer, India said, "Citigroup recognizes the challenges facing entrepreneurs associated with early-stage businesses. Our venture lending proposition is intended to provide funding to promising growth companies such as Secova, enabling them to get the financial cushion they need to stay focused on the business. Citigroup is keen to use the platform to build long-term relationships so that we can continue to serve the expanding financing requirements of these companies as they emerge into mature companies. Companies like Secova, with substantial intellectual content, high growth potential and superior quality of the management team and investors are ideal for venture lending."
Venkat Tadanki, Co-Founder and CEO, Secova eServices said, "As a pioneer in the HRO space, providing best shore service to US clients, we expect to continue to grow at a rapid pace via both organic and inorganic routes. Given this strategy, we find the solution from Citigroup to be a perfect fit for us at this stage of our growth, as it will help build Secova's value as a corporation and position us perfectly as we take the next big step for growth."
About Secova eServices
Secova eServices was founded in July 2003 by Venkat Tadanki, a Co-Founder of Daksh eServices Private Limited and includes a team of experienced professionals from the US and India. Secova offers BPO services in the area of Human Resources for Global Businesses. The services include Human Resource Administration, Health and Welfare Benefits, Pension Benefits, Payroll Administration, Applicant Tracking, Resume Management, amongst others. Secova provides these services through an on-shore/off-shore model, applying its unique tools and techniques on the one hand, and through the leveraging of the Indo-US Corridor on the other hand, which will jointly result in significant cost benefits to the end client, even as the Productivity and Quality norms remain unchanged.
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