[Funding roundup] Moneyboxx, Crater.Club, SaveIn raise early-stage rounds; BlackSoil raises Rs 70 Cr

Alternative credit player BlackSoil Capital (NBFC) raises Rs 70 Cr via secured NCDs 

The alternative credit platform, Black Soil has raised Rs 70 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) for its NBFC. These NCDs are longer tenure products raised from UHNIs, HNIs and family offices, of which 65 percent were repeat investors. 

The capital raised through the latest fundraise will be deployed predominantly for lending activities, across a variety of debt products to fund mid and growth-stage enterprises in the startup ecosystem.

The NBFC aims to fund around 25 startups from sectors such as deeptech, B2B tech, enterprise SaaS, fintech, healthtech, edtech, clean energy, and D2C/B2C ecommerce. 

“At BlackSoil, we have closed 4x the number of deals in the first half of 2021, as compared to the same period last year. We are seeing exponential deal flow in H2-2021 as well. Our latest round of NCD fundraise shall further facilitate us in meeting the growth requirements that startups are facing and wish to combat that through means of venture debt, which in turn would augment our portfolio.” said Ankur Bansal, Director and Co-founder of BlackSoil Capital.

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Moneyboxx Finance raises Rs 14.41 Cr in equity

The BSE listed NBFC Moneyboxx has raised funding of Rs 14.41 crore by way of private placement from non-promoter investors. The startup provides small-ticket loans to SMEs in Tier III and IV cities. It plans to use the funds for expanding its scale of operations and tap growth opportunities given the huge unmet credit gap for micro-enterprises.

The company's AUM is expected to cross Rs 100 crore in January 2022, supported by the growing business at existing branches. The fundraise would further augment AUM expansion by an additional Rs 75 crore.

Commenting on the fundraise, Deepak Aggarwal, Co-founder of Moneyboxx Finance Ltd, said, “We at Moneyboxx Finance aim to provide credit to underserved micro-businesses and entrepreneurs in a cost-effective and transparent manner. The equity fundraise along with growing and continuous support from our lenders will help us to further our cause of supporting the deserving micro-enterprises and create a positive impact in this segment.”

“We have built a sound business model and our portfolio remains resilient despite the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, reflected in our high collection efficiency and very low NPAs, attributed to our robust, tech-driven underwriting practices and a strong customer connect with on-ground presence. We have built up a scalable, sustainable and profitable business model in the unsecured lending segment”, he added.

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Crater.Club closed $1.2M round with Lumikai and LC Nueva

Crater.Club, an interactive live streaming and monetisation platform for creators and educators, has closed its seed round of $1.2 million. The current round of $500,00 was opened up exclusively for Lumikai as an addition to the $700,000 raised by the company earlier this year from LC Nueva* and strategic angels, closing the company’s seed raise at $1.2 million.

Crater.Club provides live streaming and auctions as an innovative way for creators and educators to deepen their engagement with their audience. The platform allows creators to interact live and sell access to their exclusive content and time via the auction of tokens.

Drawing inspiration from the rising success of live-streaming platforms such as Twitch and Loco – it provides a seamless end-end solution for distribution, engagement, and monetisation for creators and educators working in professional fields such as stock trading, design, finance, marketing, and career guidance.

“Legacy digital media platforms are ripe for disruption by introducing interactivity. Vivan and Vignesh are re-imagining the creator economy for professionals ground up, applying core lessons from the best gaming and interactive streaming platforms to provide a completely new experience for professionals looking to manage and monetise their communities with a focus on authenticity”, commented Justin Sriram Keeling, General Partner at Lumikai Fund in a press statement.

Y Combinator backs fintech platform SaveIN

SaveIN, a credit-focused fintech company, has recently been backed by Silicon Valley’s leading technology investor Y-Combinator as part of its Winter 22 batch.

The Gurugram-based startup is focused on building disruptive products and services in the on-demand credit domain. The company had raised funding in May and September earlier this year, from leading angel investors from India and abroad.

SaveIN’s healthcare finance solution called Care Now, Pay later covers a wide set of daily healthcare procedures including dental, optical, diagnostics, cosmetic, physiotherapy, and veterinary through a high-quality partner network facilitating timely care with affordable repayment plans. This presents a $20 billion market, comprising of out patient medical products and services that are typically not covered by insurance.

Founded by ex-banker and fintech professional Jitin Bhasin in 2020, SaveIN has launchedIndia’s first BNPL product for healthcare, across hundreds of providers in Delhi-NCR and is aiming to accelerate its footprint across other major cities of India over the next few months.

Jitin Bhasin, Founder and CEO, SaveIN said in a press note shared by the company, “Healthcare has never been more important and we are delighted to introduce India’s first BNPL service in healthcare segment through a deep integrated healthcare finance solution across our vetted and fast-growing partner network. We are truly humbled to be backed by an illustrious set of investors including Y-Combinator and are committed to pursue our stated objective of democratising credit and facilitating timely care for everyone, no matter the circumstance”