DCB Bank (Formerly Development Credit Bank) has advised Kashmir Finance in raising funds from a group of HNI investors. DCB Bank was the exclusive financial advisor for this transaction.

Kashmir Finance, the first and the only specialized NBFC to finance students for vocational courses, started its operations in July 2012 and operates under the brand name of ''KSFi''- Knowledge and Skill Financing solution.

Kashmir Finance Private Limited provides loans to students pursuing job oriented vocational courses from the institutes delivering skill based courses where KSFi has tie-ups. KSFi’s provides average loan of Rs 80,000 for a period of 24-36 months. Currently, the company has presence in seven key locations namely Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ludhiana, Raipur, Pune and Jammu.

Atal Agarwal, head, corporate & investment banking of DCB Bank said, ''We are delighted with the mandate given to DCB Bank. The best part about KSFi is that they follow a light asset business model and avoid brick and mortar structure. DCB Bank is proud to be associated with this company which provides a platform to the needy students to pursue their vocational courses. To take this relationship further we are also planning to help KSFi to raise another round of funding for their expansion plans.''

Sharat Kurup, founder and principal of KSFi added, ''There is a dearth of skilled labour in India. As per various studies, we require skilled labour force of more than 12 million people every year and the expected skill financing market is of USD 2 billion per annum. Hence it's important to tap this huge opportunity.''

Shares of the company gained Rs 0.8, or 0.71%, to settle  at  Rs 114.  The total volume of shares traded  was  230,585 at  the BSE (Tuesday).