Fintech startup Jai Kisan, backed by marquee investors including Arkam Ventures, Blume Ventures, British International Investment and Mirae Asset among others, has bought a majority stake in Mumbai-based non-banking lending company Kushal Finnovation Capital Pvt Ltd.
The acquisition will also help Jai Kisan get an NBFC licence, allowing it to lend to customers and move beyond loan generation for its partners, it said.
“After having facilitated over Rs 6,000 crore of loans from our banking partners to our farmer and rural business customers, we realised we would have to manufacture the right kind of credit products for them to create a deeper impact in our customers lives,” said Arjun Ahluwalia, co-founder and chief executive of Jai Kisan.
“The NBFC allows us to cater to our farmer and rural business customers with credit products they want, how they want them, when they want them and where they want them.”
Founded in 2017 by Ahluwalia and Adriel Maniego, Jai Kisan provides low-cost financing for agricultural equipment, dairy equipment and other yield generational assets to rural businesses, individuals, and farmers.
The startup said it recently appointed Komal Prajapati as head of consumer products, Sheetal Kharat as head of HR and Rahul Ojha as chief financial officer.
Last year, the startup raised capital from the UK's development finance institution British International Investment, which is also an investor in Arkam Ventures, which first backed Jai Kisan in 2020, leading its pre-Series A round worth Rs 30 crore.
“Jai Kisan is operating in a large untapped opportunity and a licence in hand is a very strong lever for the kind of growth that we think the market allows for,” said Rahul Chandra, managing director, Arkam Ventures. “Jai Kisan can now scale faster within the regulatory framework that the licence provides. It can operate as a player who can access more credit directly and disburse faster to its rural customers.”
The startup, in 2021, raised $30 million in a mix of equity and debt led by Mirae Asset as a part of its Series A. In 2022, it snagged $50 million in Series B round, which was also a mix of equity and debt.
