The second edition of #FindingMisfits is looking for startups writing the future of fintech

Thursday January 31, 2019 , 5 min Read

According to the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) as of early 2018, India had around 400 fintech firms. NASSCOM predicts that India’s fintech software market alone could touch $2.4 billion by 2020, doubling on the current rate of growth.

And the scope for growth is phenomenal. NASSCOM estimates that 40 percent of the population is currently not connected to banks, and 87 percent of payments are still made in cash. Additionally, nearly 90 percent of small businesses in the country are not linked to formal financial institutions. Hence, there is a huge scope for the growth of fintech firms in the Indian market. This will be further buoyed by the fact that the use of mobile phones is expected to increase, with mobile phone penetration in India set to rise to 85-90 percent by 2020 from the current levels of 65-75 percent. There are also huge gaps in access to institutions and services offering solutions such as funding and finance management. Finally, India’s population today largely comprises of those born in the age of the internet. This population is more likely to turn to digital solutions for all their financial needs.

#FindingMisfits: the fintech edition

In an effort to bring worthy fintech firms into the spotlight Orios Venture Partners will be hosting the fintech edition of its #FindingMisfits event on February 28 at WeWork Galaxy in Bengaluru. The event aims to showcase and encourage ground-breaking ideas from startups operating in sectors such as - lending, insurance, payments and wealth management among others. This event is partnered with another VC fund – Fosun RZ Capital, which has been very active in the same space already.

The event has 2 parts – first half will see 10 finalists pitch their companies in a closed-door session to the two funds. The pitch event is open to early-stage consumer startups, which have received less than $1M in funding, and are focused on FinTech through open channels. It will also feature specially curated startups sourced from Orios’s wide network. If anyone wishes to apply, the last date is Feb 4th and you can click on this link here.

The second half is a knowledge feast of sorts for budding entrepreneurs and those interested in fintech with several well-known speakers lined up for panel discussions. Some names we have just come to know are Sharad of IndiaStack, Watanabe of IFFCO Tokio, Tej and Vipin of Fosun, Gaurav of Capital Float, Sujith of Google Tez, Ashish from Experian and Gautam of BeatO - these leaders will be sharing their ideas on the future of FinTech in India. If anyone wishes to attend these discussions, please RSVP here.

Left to Right: Rehan Yar Khan and Anup Jain, Managing Partners at Orios Venture Partners

Rehan Yar Khan, Managing Partner, Orios Venture Partners, adds “We believe that identifying #Misfits can never be a programme or something that an investor “also does”, because it takes DNA to spot and nurture founders working in new uncharted territories. We have been doing this for 12 years, and it’s all we do. This has resulted in majority of our companies going into the next round of funding after our initial investment”.

A million-dollar funding opportunity

The winning startups (tentatively top 3) will receive a full suite of services and products apart from equity funding to scale the venture to the next level. This would include the following:

Up to $10,000 to $1 million in equity funding from Orios Venture Partner
Products and services including workspace credits, laptops, phones, cloud infrastructure, travel accommodation etc. from event partners, which include WeWork Labs, Amazon AWS, YourStory, and Fosun Capital
Mentorship from senior investors and experts in the Indian startup ecosystem like Nitin of Zerodha and others

Anup Jain, Managing Partner, Orios Venture Partners, adds “We see tremendous opportunity unfold before us in the financial services space powered by mobile reach, consumer desire to access financial products with greater knowledge and convenience and with usage of technology to make it scalable to millions of consumers. We are looking at backing the next batch of #Misfits that we will be meeting at the event. It will be a power packed day on Fintech for the entire ecosystem on February 28, 2019. I would like to invite everyone to participate and benefit from it”.

About Orios Venture Partners

Orios Venture is an early-stage VC fund focused on the consumer opportunity in India and invests in both technology and non-technology startups. Its portfolio includes Miss Malini, Ola Cabs, PrettySecrets, PharmEasy, Yumlane, Country Delight, GoMechanic and many other fast-growing consumer companies. The team works closely with invested companies, especially in scaling up operations, marketing and building a brand story.

The main partners for the event are - WeWork Labs, Amazon AWS, YourStory, and Fosun Capital

YourStory is a media partner for Orios Venture Partners.