Capri Global Capital plans to grow its lending business to ₹1.25 lakh crore by 2031. The firm is using technology and gold loans to scale up. Managing Director Rajesh Sharma said, "The company is building on its established lending businesses while adding new avenues for growth." Gold loans now drive expansion.
The lender is expanding its secured lending portfolio, with gold loans emerging as a key growth driver. Rajesh Sharma, Managing Director of Capri Global Capital, tells Moneycontrol how technology, branch productivity and disciplined underwriting will shape its next phase of growth.
Capri Global Capital, which is known by the brand 'Capri Loans', is preparing for a larger lending business, with gold loans, technology and an expanding branch network at the centre of its growth strategy. The ambition is to increase assets under management (AUM) to ₹1 lakh crore by 2030 and ₹1.25 lakh crore by 2031, from a target of ₹50,000 crore this year.
The expansion, however, is not simply about adding branches or increasing loan disbursements. For the lender, the next phase depends on improving productivity, maintaining asset quality and using technology to make a growing secured lending business more efficient.
Speaking to Moneycontrol on The Growth Blueprint, Rajesh Sharma, Managing Director of Capri Global Capital, said the company is building on its established lending businesses while adding new avenues for growth.
Gold loans become a bigger part of the lending mix
Capri Global's lending business was primarily focused on MSME loans, affordable housing and small-ticket construction finance until 2021. The company subsequently added gold loans as a growth driver, alongside small-ticket micro loans, third-party car loan and insurance distribution, and a debt capital markets desk for retail online bond distribution.
Gold loans now account for around 48% of its portfolio, with Sharma expecting the share to rise to approximately 55%.
The segment has expanded more than threefold over four years, helped in part by the sharp increase in gold prices. But the opportunity extends beyond the value of the collateral. Sharma sees demand among borrowers who have traditionally relied on informal lenders and small jewellers, particularly those who may not have the income documentation required by conventional lending channels.
The company's approach is to bring these borrowers into the formal lending system through a quicker, paperless process. Sharma said a short-term gold loan can be disbursed quickly, with the journey designed to eliminate physical paperwork and signatures.
For a relatively late entrant, the advantage is the ability to build the business around newer technology and processes rather than replicate older operating models.
A secured lending strategy built around underserved borrowers
Capri Global's expansion remains anchored in secured lending. Sharma said the company's DNA is rooted in collateral-backed finance, with property and gold providing security for loans to borrowers who may otherwise struggle to access formal credit.
The opportunity spans multiple segments. Sharma estimated the MSME lending opportunity at around ₹50 lakh crore, while the affordable housing financing gap could reach ₹32 lakh crore over the next decade. He also pointed to the scale of household gold holdings, of which only a small proportion is monetised through formal lending.
The company plans to expand its branch network by around 500 branches annually over the next four to five years. It had grown from 124 branches in 2022 to approximately 1,433 at the time of the interview, including around 1,000 gold loan branches.
The expansion is intended to support both the gold loan business and the company's other lending products, which Sharma expects to grow by 20-35%, depending on market conditions.
Technology must translate into better productivity and asset quality
The larger branch network makes operating efficiency increasingly important. Capri Global is using technology across customer onboarding, loan processing, collateral evaluation and collections, while data science and artificial intelligence are being integrated into underwriting and decision-making.
Sharma said the company has a technology centre in Gurgaon, with engineers, data scientists and AI specialists working on these capabilities. The objective is to automate processing where possible, improve credit assessment and strengthen collections.
Underwriting continues to consider borrowers' cash flows, repayment capacity, credit scores and business rules. Technology supports these checks rather than replacing the underlying assessment.
The lender reported a gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio of 1.1% during the interview. Sharma said the company has invested in training, technology and underwriting discipline to maintain asset quality as it expands.
He also linked technology to operating performance. Over the preceding six quarters, the company had seen improvement in its numbers, with automation and data science expected to help reduce operating costs and improve margins.
The productivity gains are already visible in some businesses. MSME relationship manager productivity increased from ₹18 lakh to ₹26 lakh, while home loan productivity rose from ₹22 lakh to ₹32 lakh.
Gold loans have reached productivity of around ₹19 crore per branch. Sharma said the company had achieved this in just four years.
Capital and funding to support the next phase
Capri Global raised ₹2,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement in June 2025, strengthening its capital base to support growth, technology investments and branch expansion.
The company has also accessed overseas funding through a $300 million dollar bond issuance. Sharma said international borrowing diversifies the funding pool and helps establish a track record in overseas markets, although it can be more expensive than domestic funding.
The lender continues to access banks, refinancing and capital markets to support its expansion.
For Sharma, profitability will depend on managing the cost of funding, operating expenses and credit losses while improving productivity. The company has indicated a long-term return on average equity (ROAE) target of 18-21% and return on average assets (ROAA) of 4.2-4.5% or higher.
Growth with asset quality in focus
Capri Global's stated ambition is to build a ₹1.25 lakh crore AUM business by 2031. Sharma said the company has delivered an AUM compound annual growth rate of around 42% over the past decade, alongside approximately 37% growth in profit after tax and 40% growth in shareholder value.
The next phase, he said, will require the company to grow at the right yield while maintaining its asset quality.
For Capri Global, the opportunity lies in bringing more underserved borrowers into formal credit through secured lending. The challenge will be ensuring that a larger portfolio and faster branch expansion translate into sustainable productivity, profitability and disciplined risk management.