[Funding alert] Virtual banking startup indyFint raises $2.1M in Series A round

Bengaluru-based virtual banking startup indyFint on Thursday said it has raised $2.1 million in Series A round led by Saravanan Adiseshan, Co-founder of SJ Associates.

Post this investment, Saravanan will be joining the indyFint board. The startup also plans to use the new funding to accelerate product development and drive its market expansion efforts.  

Launched in October 2019 by Paddy Padmanabhan and Rajiv Kuchhal, indyFint is building a marketplace to enable lenders to directly offer short-term loans to merchants, employees, and students. In a bid to create a pull-based credit ecosystem, indyFint is also planning to develop its proprietary machine-learning lending algorithms for ‘credit-scoring’, basis the transactions of small business entrepreneurs.

Commenting on the occasion, Paddy Padmanabhan, Chairman, indyFint, said, 

“With the unorganised lending being upwards of $130 billion a year in India, there needs to be concerted efforts to provide timely and affordable credit to millions of users. We are building a world-class technology platform that would play a significant role in providing timely credit. We expect to serve over a million users in the coming 12-18 months. With this, we would be able to play our part in furthering financial inclusion in India.”         

Paddy Padmanabhan was earlier the Chief Architect of Finacle (CBS from Infosys), and Rajiv Kuchhal was a serial entrepreneur in Bengaluru. They have invested in their personal capacity in the Series A Investment round.

Saravanan Adiseshan, Co-founder of SJ Associates, said, 

“The Series A funding is a strategic step towards building and enhancing further on indyFint’s technology, brand, and innovative customer-centric business models. With indyFint’s unique solution providing capabilities in the digital lending space, the company is well-poised to reach a growth of 10X by the end of 2020. With its innovative offerings, indyFint would be able to have a significant play in the micro-finance segment.”  

The virtual banking startup leverages its technology platform for sourcing, due-diligence, and evaluating borrowers. The company uses an algorithm to analyse payments history, along with alternative data sources for originating loans.

(Edited by Megha Reddy)

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