Startup news and updates: daily roundup (June 28, 2022)

Lending startup LoanTap names Ashish Jain as CFO; Rajeev Das as CRO

Fintech platform LoanTap has appointed Ashish Jain as its chief financial officer, and Rajeev Das as its chief risk officer, the company said in a press release. Their primary responsibilities will include implementing strategic initiatives, the company added.

Ashish, an industry veteran, has worked with companies such as L&T Financial Services, IDFC First Bank, and KPMG, while Rajeev spent more than two decades at Standard Chartered Bank.

CoinSwitch appoints Ramesh Bafna as CFO

India's largest cryptocurrency platform CoinSwitch has appointed Ramesh Bafna as its chief financial officer, who takes over the role from Sarmad Nazki.

In the past, Ramesh has worked with companies such as Myntra and Flipkart, where he built sustainable marketplace revenue models, as well as Wipro.

Ramesh’s experience in solving problems at scale in high-growth companies will help us strengthen and expand CoinSwitch to serve the next billion people," said Ashish Singhal, Co-founder and CEO, CoinSwitch.

Arya.ag's loan books crosses Rs 500 Cr mark

Agritech platform arya.ag said on Tuesday its loan book crossed the Rs 500 crore mark on its embedded fintech platform, Aryadhan, for the half-year period.

The platform has distributed over Rs 1,200 crore in loans so far, with "near-zero non-performing asset" levels.

Founded and run by Prasanna Rao, Anand Chandra, and Chattanathan Devarajan, the Noida-based startup helps farmers discover warehouses to store their grains and produce, and provides financing and market linkages via a digital platform that is accessible across the value chain, from the small-hold farmers to large corporates. It connects sellers and buyers of agri-produce and provides assurance on quantity, quality, and payments.

Fintech platform Lentra AI acquires Singapore-based AI company, TheDataTeam

Digital lending platform Lentra has acquired Chennai and Singapore-based AI company, TheDataTeam, in a bid to help banks and financial institutions make better data-driven decisions on customers' loan repayment history, it said on Tuesday.

Lentra will use TheDataTeam's Cadenz, a behaviour intelligence platform, to help financial institutions make data-driven decisions.

Rangarajan Vasudevan, Founder and CEO of TheDataTeam, will join HDFC Bank and Bessemer Venture Partners-funded Lentra as the Co-founder and Chief Data Officer as per terms of the deal.

The deployment of Cadenz is expected to reduce fintech platforms' go-to-market time, and help them launch new, innovative products, faster.

Blockchain-powered TraceX partners with TechnoServe to trace coffee produced in Araku Valley

TraceX Technologies, which uses blockchain to enhance food and supply chain transparency, said it has partnered with non-profit organisation, TechnoServe, to offer digital traceability for coffee produced by 3,500 farmers in Araku Valley, Andhra Pradesh.

The partnership will allow TechnoServe's partner brands such as Blue Tokai Coffee and Humble bean the ability to track and record the journey of coffee beans throughout the stages of production.

(This is an ongoing story and will be updated with the latest updates throughout the day.)