Startup news and updates: daily roundup (June 21, 2023)

Funding

Rural fintech Navadhan raises $1.5M in seed round

Navadhan, a rural fintech startup, has raised $1.5 million in a seed round led by Varanium NexGen, a fintech-focused fund. The round also saw participation from existing investor Anicut Capital, which co-led the funding, as well as Gemba Capital.

The funds will be utilised by Navadhan to expand and enhance its AceN Tech platform. The platform acts as a link between rural small businesses (MSMEs) and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and banks, enabling seamless connections and interactions.

With a network comprising 15 lenders, including Ugro, Vivriti, Northern Arc, Caspian, Unitus, and TruCap, Navadhan claims it has already onboarded over 200,000 customers and disbursed more than Rs 100 crore.

Good Flippin' Burgers raises $4M in Series A round

Burger chain Good Flippin’ Burgers has raised $4 million in a Series A funding round led by Tanglin Venture Partners. The company said it will use the funding on geographical expansion, reinforcing its supply chain, and further refining its dining and quick service models in next 12 months.

By implementing these strategic initiatives, Good Flippin' Burgers aims to establish itself as a dominant player in the market, catering to the increasing demand for burgers across regions.

The company was founded in 2019 by Viren Dsilva, Sijo Mathew, and Sid Marchant. It raised $1 million in April 2022 and has expanded threefold over the past year, the company said.

Co-living startup Truliv raises $1.5M in pre-seed round

Truliv, a Chennai-based startup specialising in co-living and holiday homes, has raised a pre-seed funding round of $1.5 million.

The investment was led by Conquest Global Ventures VCC, Vara Future, and other investors, valuing Truliv at Rs 60 crore, as per a statement.

Rohit Reddy, Co-founder, Truliv, said, “Truliv intends to utilise these funds for the growth of its co-living and Holiday Homes business verticals. The company targets to reach 7,000 co-living beds in Chennai by 2025, which is a 3X increase from its current capacity, and to 36 Holiday Homes across Tamil Nadu by 2025 which is a 5X increase from its current capacity."

Saf Earth raises $400k funding round

SafEarth, a technology platform for the adoption of renewable energy, has announced the conclusion of its recent funding round, securing Rs 35 million (around over $400,000).

The investment was led by Anthill Ventures, Third Derivative, and Mumbai Angels. This funding infusion will support SafEarth's product development endeavors and facilitate its expansion into new industrial regions across the country.

SafEarth assists industries in reducing their carbon emissions on a large scale through the transition from thermal power to solar energy.

With more than 100 completed industrial solar projects and a deployed capacity of 171MW, SafEarth has facilitated the saving of over 300,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, the startup claimed.

Utsav App raises Rs 2 crore in seed funding

Utsav App, a community-led marketplace catering to faith and divinity-related needs in India, has raised Rs 2 crore in a seed funding round led by India Quotient. The funds raised will be utilised to forge partnerships with religious organisations and expand operations across multiple geographies.

The initial funding round for Utsav App was led by 100X.VC as part of its Class 06 portfolio in December 2021. The app has also received investments from angel investors such as Divyanshu Tambe, the founder of agri-tech startup Mera Pashu 360, and Vikrant Gandhi.

Founded in 2021 by three college friends—Sourajit Basu, Ankita De, and Prajata Samanta, the app offers religious organisations and their devotees a digital space to share information, make online puja bookings, and more.

Red Fort Capital raises Rs 11.5 Cr

Red Fort Capital, a financial services company, has secured Rs 11.5 crore in funding from IKF Finance and Om Usha Financial Services. This investment will be instrumental in supporting Red Fort Capital's objective of providing fast business loans to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) while also expanding its loan book.

Red Fort Capital specialises in providing secured business loans. The firm can offer an impressive turnaround time of under seven days for loan approvals, it said.

With the funding from Om Usha Financial Services, Red Fort Capital said it will be well-positioned to further support the financial needs of MSMEs, while continuing to prioritise risk management and operational efficiency.

Other news

Cashfree launches CVV-free card payments on major card networks

Cashfree Payments, a payments and API banking firm in India, has introduced CVV-free card payments for its partner businesses.

This feature allows customers to enjoy convenient checkouts when using saved (tokenised) cards on major networks like Visa, Mastercard, and RuPay.

By eliminating the requirement to enter the CVV (Card Verification Value), the payment process becomes streamlined, reducing transaction time by up to 5 seconds. Importantly, these CVV-free payments adhere to the strictest security standards set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the firm claimed.

GoKwik partners CRED to boost payments

GoKwik, an ecommerce enabler, and CRED, a community of creditworthy individuals, brands, and institutions, have announced a strategic partnership to expand CRED's payment options to brands utilising the GoKwik platform.

By integrating CRED's payment options, brands on GoKwik could benefit from increased discoverability, improved prepaid conversions, and reduced instances of return to origin (RTO).

As part of the partnership, CRED Pay will be integrated into GoKwik's range of payment solutions available at checkout.