[Funding alert] Fintech startup Chqbook raises $5M in Series A round from Aavishkaar Capital

Gurugram-based fintech startup Chqbook.com said it has recently raised $5 million in Series A funding from Aavishkaar Capital.

According to the startup, the capital will be deployed to expand its product portfolio, scale up distribution across multiple cities, and strengthen its proprietary AI-powered technology platform.

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Founded in 2017 by Vipul Sharma, Rajat Kumar, Sachin Arora, and Mohit Goel, Chqbook.com is a marketplace for small business owners, offering them products around lending, credit cards, insurance, accounts, and rewards.

Speaking on the investment from Aavishkaar Capital, Vipul Sharma, Founder & CEO, Chqbook.com, said,

“We are really excited to have Aavishkaar Capital as our first institutional investor. Chqbook and Aavishkaar Capital share a common vision of creating impact and catalysing development in highly underserved segments in India. Backed by a strong founding team, we are building India’s first marketplace bank and will be the financial control center for small business owners by offering them massive product choice and superior customer experience.” 

The platform offers over 60 products with zero-fee and negotiated rates, and has served over 200,000 customers across 20 cities. According to the startup, it uses alternate data and works with credit bureaus, partners, and financial institutions to provide financial services to over 12,000 business owners per month and processes more than 40,000 customer applications per month.

Sushma Kaushik, Partner, Aavishkaar Capital, said,

“We liked Chqbook’s focus on servicing the small business segment in a cost-effective manner. The founding team’s integrated understanding of product, technology, and distribution makes this an attractive team to back. A platform which holistically services the financial services needs of this segment with positive unit economics makes this an exciting investment opportunity for Aavishkaar Capital.” 

Some of the other early-stage investors of Chqbook include Harsha Bhogle, Bharat Shyam, Ken Glass, Anand Chandrasekaran, Amit Manocha, Amit Singhal, Bhupesh Kumar, Nilesh Srivastava, Rohit Chanana, and Sakshi Vij

Chqbook claims to be already unit economics-positive, and said that its year-on-year revenue has seen a growth of 8x in FY20 compared to FY19.

Disclaimer: Chqbook.com is a Techsparks Tech30 2019 startup.

(Edited by Megha Reddy)