[Funding Alert] Fintech lender Aye Finance raises Rs 210 Cr in Series E round led by CapitalG

Gurugram-based financial technology company Aye Finance announced that it has raised Rs 210 crore in Series E funding, led by CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund. The round also includes participation from Aye’s existing investors LGT Lightstone, Falcon Edge Capital, A91 Partners, and MAJ Invest.

With this fresh investment, Aye’s total equity funding since inception exceeds Rs 690 crore.

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This funding recognises the traction Aye Finance is seeing in the market as a disruptive micro enterprise lender.

Commenting on the latest fund raise, Sanjay Sharma, Managing Director, Aye Finance, said, “Closing a major funding round during these times of economic uncertainty reinforces the value that our investors see in Aye Finance. Our deep connect with customers, our engaged team that rates us as a great place to work, our extensive presence on the field, supported with automation, is a huge differentiator that enables us to optimally restrict credit losses. This equity investment will further add to liquidity that will enable us to emerge strong from the COVID-19 crisis and continue to benefit millions of micro-enterprises across India.”

Founded in 2014 by Sanjay Sharma and Vikram Jetley, Aye Finance has disbursed over Rs 3,000 crore and brought over 200,000 unorganised businesses into the formal lending ecosystem since its inception. It provides mortgage, hypothecation, and term loan services accessible to India’s thriving and underserved micro enterprises.

Speaking about the investment, Sumiran Das, board member and partner at CapitalG, said, "Aye Finance's continued success is a testament to their industry leadership, their underwriting methodology, which combines an optimal mix of data science with physical presence in the field, and their ability to empower a huge, unaddressed market."

Despite the disruptions brought on by the onset of COVID-19 that adversely affected the MSME sector, Aye Finance said it has recorded improving operating ratios in the first quarter of the financial year 2020-21.

Earlier, in April, the fintech startup raised Rs 180 crore in debt funding from leading lenders from India and abroad.