Mumbai-based Aeries Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which operates personal loan app CASHe, has raised Rs 20 crore (around $3 million) in debt funding from IFMR Capital.
The one-year-old startup will use the funds to accelerate growth and build the loan book of subsidiary Bhanix Finance and Investment Ltd, it said in a statement.
“The partnership aligns with our approach of taking exposure to high quality originators at an early stage to give them access to investors through structured product solutions,†said Kshama Fernandes, CEO, IFMR Capital.
In April this year, CASHe raised Rs 25 crore ($3.8 million) in Series A funding led by Mathew Cyriac, former India co-head of private equity at Blackstone Group LP. Previously, the startup also secured funding from Kotak Mahindra Bank.
“The funding will help us accelerate growth and strengthen our market position,†said CASHe founder and chairman V Raman Kumar.
Founded by Kumar, CASHe disburses short-term personal loans of Rs 10,000-2 lakh to young, salaried professionals. The startup uses an algorithm that determines a user’s creditworthiness by tracking his or her mobile data usage and social media profiles.
CASHe disburses loans for tenures of 30-180 days. The company claims it takes merely eight minutes to sanction a loan after the customer submits the application. Since its launch, the app claims to have seen over 5 lakh downloads with over 50,000 active borrowers.
CASHe claims to have disbursed loans worth Rs 23 crore in September and nearly Rs 200 crores since its launch in April 2016. The startup aims to disburse loans worth Rs 450 crore by March 2018.
The fin-tech sector in India has gained a lot of traction in recent years with many players emerging in payments, lending, insurance and personal finance segments. At least 25 fin-tech startups had raised funding between January and May this year, according to a VCCircle analysis. Several startups have emerged in the online lending segment over the past two years, and most of them are targeting small and medium-sized businesses.
Last week, microlending platform KrazyBee, which is operated by Bengaluru-based Finovation Tech Solutions Pvt. Ltd, raised $8 million (around Rs 51.7 crore) in its Series A funding round led by Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Technologies and Shunwei Capital.
Last month, online consumer lending platform CrediFiable, which is operated by Bengaluru-based OneFiable Technologies Pvt. Ltd, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Kae Capital.
Social Worth Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which runs online lending platform EarlySalary, earlier this month raised Rs 5 crore in debt financing from IFMR Capital.
Recent deals in the lending segment include Shubh Loans raising $1.5 million (about Rs 10 crore) in a pre-Series A round from SRI Capital, Japan’s BeeNext and Pravega Ventures.
KNAB Finance raised a little over Rs 2.5 crore in two rounds from InCred and more than a dozen individual investors. InCred has also invested in fin-tech startup DigiLend Analytics & Technology Pvt Ltd.
Bengaluru-based Billionloans Financial Services raised $1 million in seed funding from Reliance Corporate Advisory Services Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Capital Ltd, in July.
In June, Delhi-based digital lending platform Stashfin raised $5 million in a pre-Series A funding from Kirloskar Group’s venture capital arm Snow Leopard Ventures, Singapore-based Alto Partners, GrowX Ventures, and a clutch of angel investors. The same month, Ahmedabad- and Bangalore-based Lendingkart raised Rs 50 crore ($7.8 million) in debt from Yes Bank.
Around the same time, online peer-to-peer lending platform LoanMeet secured seed funding from a clutch of investors, including Chinese entrepreneurs. Other startups that have raised funds in the lending space include LoanTap, Innoviti, Fincash, MoneyTap, Loan Frame, and Ftcash.