Digital lending startup HappyEMI raises $1 M from AJ Ventures and JAN

The fund will be used to expand its reach of consumer digital loans at point-of-sale across new geographies. 

Bengaluru-based digital customer lending startup HappyEMI has raised $1 million from AJ Ventures, JAN and Anand Sankeshwar, Managing Director of VRL Logistics. The fund will be used to expand its reach of consumer digital loans at point-of-sale (PoS) across new geographies.

The company stated that the fund will be used to venture into lending for education, healthcare services and further increase its reach of no cost equal monthly installment loans for consumer durables like smartphones and televisions.

HappyEMI provides instant financing to consumers through no-cost based equal monthly instalment at the point-of-sale in stores such as Sangeetha Mobiles, Poorvika, Happi Mobiles, and over 500 independent retail stores.

The startup uses a data-driven approach to underwrite risk beyond credit score. It has already serviced over 10,000 customers as well as added 1,000 point-of-sale retail partners till now. The startup boasts of partnering with manufacturers like Oppo, Vivo, Karbonn, Symphony Air Coolers, and others.

Suhas Gopinath, founder and CEO, HappyEMI said, “We are building a digital lending ecosystem for Indian consumers at point of sale, and are now focusing on Tier II and Tier III cities to further broaden our reach and give consumers access to a wide variety of point of service loans through our intuitive platform that is CIBIL independent, and looks at other data points such as salary and social media profile.”

There are over 478 million mobile internet users in India according to the latest IAMAI report and millennials are digital natives who are disrupting traditional industries as well as services including embracing ecommerce, digital payments and digital lending for their aspirational needs. The company added, “According to the latest consumer survey, almost 70 percent of smartphone buyers utilise non-cash modes to finance their purchase. It is this huge opportunity of digital lending that HappyEMI will be disrupting and participating in. Digital lending is slated to be almost $1 trillion marketplace in India over the course of next five years, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group.”