Lendingkart raises Rs 30cr from Anicut Capital, to serve SMEs in remote areas
Digital lending platform for SMEs Lendingkart has raised Rs 30 crore in the form of non-convertible debentures (NCD) from Anicut Capital, one of the leading alternative asset management firms in India.
The funding will be utilised for expanding the lending operations of its subsidiary NBFC, Lendingkart Finance, with a focus on small businesses in unbanked regions.
Ashvin Chadha, Co-founder, Anicut Capital, said,
“The credit gap creates abundant opportunities for new-age players to become a lender of choice for these underserved SMEs. Our collaboration with Lendingkart Group is a move to rapidly bridge this gap.”
Anicut Capital, an asset management firm founded by Ashvin Chadha and IAS Balamurugan, is the investment manager for Grand Anicut Fund, a Category II AIF. Since it closed its first investment in August 2016, Anicut Capital has committed more than Rs 110 crore across six investments.
Last June, Lendingkart had raised Rs 205 crore ($32 million) in a Series B round. Of that, $20 million was raised as equity and $12 million as debt. The last round of funding was led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), with participation from Darrin Capital Management and existing investors including Mayfield India, Saama Capital, and India Quotient.
Harshvardhan Lunia, CEO and Co-founder, Lendingkart Technologies, said,
“The latest round of NCD will further bolster our loan book and enable us to serve the credit needs of many more SMEs. Led by financial industry veterans like Ashvin Chadha and IAS Balamurugan, Anicut has emerged as a perfect match to partner with us in our growth journey. Together, we share the vision of meeting the credit needs of millions of small businesses in the country. We look forward to leveraging Anicut’s rich experience in banking and small business financing in the times to come.”
Founded in 2014 by ex-banker and ISB Hyderabad alumnus Harshvardhan and ex-ISRO scientist and IIM Bangalore alumnus Mukul Sachan, Lendingkart has developed technology tools based on big data analytics that facilitate lenders to evaluate borrowers’ creditworthiness.
Lendingkart Group has expanded its operations pan-India, and till date, it has catered to the credit requirements of over 200,000 SMEs have reached out to Lendingkart for their credit requirement.
Lendingkart Finance employs technology and analytics tools in the analysis of thousands of data points from various sources to assess the creditworthiness of small businesses rapidly and accurately.
Lendingkart Group aims to make working capital finance available to entrepreneurs quickly, so that they can focus on business instead of worrying about the gaps in their cashflows.
Website: Lendingkart