Fintech lender Fibe raises $35M from World Bank's IFC
Pune-based Fibe focuses on consumer lending for middle-income households, offering short-term personal loans and impact-linked financing for healthcare and education.
Fibe has raised $35 million from the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, as part of its Series F funding round.
The capital will be used to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and support long-term portfolio expansion.
The Pune-based fintech focuses on consumer lending for middle-income households, offering short-term personal loans and impact-linked financing for healthcare and education. The company said it has facilitated more than 9 million loans to date.
“IFC’s investment is a meaningful milestone in our journey to make impact-led financial solutions accessible and affordable for millions,” said Akshay Mehrotra, managing director and group chief executive officer of Fibe. “This capital will help us enhance our product suite further and deliver a unified experience across borrowing, saving, investing, and payments — while remaining focused on responsible credit and positive socio-economic outcomes.”
Imad N. Fakhoury, IFC regional division director for South Asia, said, “IFC’s equity investment will both expand responsible financing for underserved individuals, especially women, and strengthen Fibe’s responsible finance approach.”
Founded in 2015, Fibe has raised more than $266 million in equity, including secondaries, and counts TPG’s The Rise Fund, Norwest Venture Partners, Eight Roads Ventures, TR Capital, Piramal Finance Ltd. and Chiratae Ventures among its investors. The company said it has been profitable for four consecutive years and operates in more than 940 cities.
Early Salary Services Limited, Fibe's NBFC arm, defied the broader downturn in the digital lending sector by nearly doubling its profit in FY25, even as rivals struggled with rising defaults and slowing disbursements in the personal loan segment.
The company posted a profit after tax of Rs 101.18 crore for the year ended March 2025, up 82.8% from Rs 55.34 crore in FY24 despite a sharp uptick in finance costs and provisioning expenses.
Early Salary posted a 43.3% increase in interest income, which rose to Rs 1,001.1 crore in FY25 from Rs 698.77 crore the previous year. Its total revenue from operations climbed 45.8%, reaching Rs 1,033.03 crore from Rs 708.73 crore in FY24.
Edited by Jyoti Narayan