[Funding alert] Fintech startup NIRA raises $2.1M in Pre-Series A

NIRA, a fintech startup offering small-ticket loans to blue and grey-collared workers via its mobile app and website, today announced that it has closed $2.1 million in Pre-Series A funding round from existing and new angel investors in the UK, Europe, and India. The funding will be used to add high-quality talent to its team, further develop its product and technology, and scale up its lending volumes.

Co-founded by ex-Goldman Sachs colleagues Rohit Sen and Nupur Gupta, NIRA offers access and credit to working Indians at their time of need. The company offers loans of up to Rs 1 lakh for up to one year, via its app-based credit line.

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Launched exclusively in Bengaluru in mid-2018, NIRA now operates pan-India with many thousands of customers from more than 100 cities across the country.

“This is our next phase of our journey. While we did get offers for funding from a couple of VCs, we decided to stick to our existing investors and take more time to find the right long-term partners” said Rohit Sen, CEO and Co-founder of NIRA. “In the last 12 months, we’ve found a good product-market fit, so now we want to build on this strong foundation to scale our business”.

NIRA’s co-founders are Rohit Sen and Nupur Gupta and they set up the company with an aim to use the power of data and technology to reimagine the way finance can be provided to consumers.

Rohit believes credit has to be disbursed systemically, and with NIRA, he has created a model that can give a strong sense on the credit-worthiness of an individual. Based on NIRA’s own parameters, it lends to borrowers with a good credit score at lower interest rates. It also lends to those who do not have a credit score and are first-time borrowers. The fintech startup tied up with Federal Bank for loan disbursal.