Financial technology firm Progcap, which provides debt to micro and small businesses, has raised $1 million (nearly Rs 7 crore) in a round of funding led by early-stage investment firm GrowX Ventures.
Progcap will use the money to build a platform that will target over 20 million retailers in India who are unplugged from formal financing, The Economic Times reported, citing a company statement.
The startup, operated by Delhi-based Desiderata Impact Ventures Pvt. Ltd, provides retailers in semi-urban and rural areas access to collateral-free working capital through its Last Mile Retailer Finance (LMRF) facility.
The lending startup was launched in 2017 by Pallavi Shrivastava and Himanshu Chandra. Shrivastava, an alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur, had previously worked with International Finance Corporation as the regional lead, Hinduja Group and Infosys. Chandra was associated with Barclays and Standard Chartered Bank in the past.
GrowX has invested in more than 25 companies since its inception including Mad Street Den, Quandl, Ziploan and Locus.sh.
Its most recent transactions were with Bengaluru-based drone maker Aarav Unmanned Systems and Mumbai-based Wellthy Therapeutics Pvt. Ltd, which operates a mobile-based diabetes management platform.
Lending startups
The business-to-consumer lending segment has seen significant deal activity in recent months.
Last week, digital lending startup ZestMoney raised $20 million (Rs 139.4 crore) in its Series B round of funding led by venture capital firm Quona Capital.
In January, Mumbai-based peer-to-peer lending platform LiquiLoans raised an undisclosed amount of funding from existing investor Matrix Partners India.
In the same month, LoanTap Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd, a digital platform that offers loans and overdraft products to salaried professionals, raised $8 million (Rs 57 crore) in a fresh round of funding led by new investor 3one4 Capital.
