Tata Capital, Blue Orchard lead $11M Series A funding in MSME financier FinAGG
Just three months after receiving approval for a regulatory sandbox, FinAGG is in talks with the RBI for two new financial products, according to Co-founder and CEO Nipun Kohli.
Noida-based —a cash-flow financier for small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India—has secured $11 million in a Series A funding round led by Tata Capital Limited and Switzerland-based investment firm Blue Orchard.
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and existing investor Prime Venture Partners participated in the round. Additionally, early-stage global investor Gray Matter Capital pumped in money through non-convertible debentures, the firm said on Thursday.
“SIDBI’s banking division has made its first investment in the fintech space with this funding. This, along with support from Tata Capital and Blue Orchard, underscores our commitment to serve MSMEs in India,” Nipun Kohli, Co-founder and CEO of FinAGG, told YourStory.
The supply chain financing company plans to use the funding to expand its omnichannel presence, enhance global outreach, and invest in product innovation, Kohli said.
Founded in 2019 by Nipun Kohli and Srini Ramki, offers working capital assistance to over 85,000 SMBs through integrations with public digital infrastructure solutions such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Aadhaar, and GSTN, among others. It aims to ensure lenders quick and easy growth capital through the process of underwriting.
FinAGG also services financial institutions, including a few of the country’s largest private-sector banks, non-banking financial institutions, and small finance banks.
In November, the firm bagged approval from the banking watchdog The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the regulatory sandbox called Quick Cash Flow for MSME lending. It is now developing two more financial products in close association with the RBI, Kohli said.
India is home to more than 6.2 million MSMEs that contribute to the GDP and employment. However, supply chain financing remains a challenge for many businesses with the gap estimated to be over Rs 60,000 crore.
FinAGG said it has disbursed loans upwards of Rs 5,200 crore to date, with 20% of these enterprises led by women entrepreneurs, fostering annual sales growth of 22% and promoting financial awareness and inclusion.
The company is also working on bringing blockchain to the underwriting industry, which largely worked on conventional pen and paper until recently, Kohli noted. “These new features will help us look at borrowers in a completely different light and make underwriting in this space more meaningful.”
Speaking of the fundraise, Kohli said, “We have been able to bring investor partners that share high synergy with us and are experts in their domains. Having the likes of BlueOrchard, who are the leaders when it comes to climate-based impact programs, will help us drive the penetration of climate insurance to our client, Tata Capital, which is one of the biggest NBFCs in India, will help us scale our business operations to new heights and SIDBI, which is a development bank owned by GOI, will help us grow GST Sahay through access to cheap funds.”
“Our existing partnership with FinAgg in the SME supply chain has been successful, showcasing promising traction. We value FinAgg's tech-driven efficiency and focus on distributor finance access. Excited about our continued collaboration, we anticipate a fruitful partnership and are committed to supporting FinAgg's next phase of growth,” said Rajiv Sabharwal, Managing Director and CEO of Tata Capital.
Edited by Megha Reddy