Newbazaar Technologies Pvt Ltd, which runs fintech platform ShopSe, has raised Series A funding of $6.1 million (around Rs 47 crore) from BeeNext, Chiratae Ventures and White Venture Capital, the company’s Co-Founder Pallav Jain told VCCircle.
The startup plans to deploy the fresh capital towards adding 150,000 more retailers to its portfolio this year.
The raised amount will also be used to grow lender partnerships and further enhance platform capabilities to enable over 45 million Indian consumers with convenient affordability.
Jain said ShopSe's team has grown from 10 to over 300 team members since the previous fundraise and at present, the startup is hiring and planning to build a top-quality team.
He also underlined that the startup is working on a mechanism that taps a large customer base and they have already partnered with financial institutions like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank and IIFL.
Jain further added that with the help of its lending partners, ShopSe has been able to bring change for 35,000 retailers serving customers in more than 500 locations across the country.
"We are looking to take our presence from 35,000 to 150,000 retail points. Apart from that, we will be building lending partnerships and products based on the need of the market," Jain said.
Speaking about the addressable market, he said, "The penetration of consumer affordability at point of purchase is barely 5% as of now. Our focus will be to utilize technology and work with our lending partners to build more convenient and transparent products which retailers and consumers desperately need today.
The focus is on building a larger and better market by making this accessible to all retailers and consumers, rather than chasing a share of the existing market.”
Founded in 2020 by Jain, Abhishek Nimonkar, and Yagnesh Desai, ShopSe is a digital affordability marketplace and it provides instant no-cost EMI or pay-later services to consumers at the point of purchase. The platform provides instant digital credit solutions to consumers by digitally examining real-time credit eligibility.
Last year, ShopSe raised $5.5 million (around Rs 40 crore) in a funding round led by early-stage venture capital funds Chiratae Ventures and Beenext.
Jain said that the startup had deployed the capital raised last year to facilitate affordability at 35,000 retail points.
"We have expanded our services across multiple states and have served customers in more than 500 locations across the country," he added.
