Digital lending platform LoanTap, which offers loans and overdraft products to salaried professionals, has raised $12 million (approximately Rs 85.08 crore at current exchange rates) in a Series B investment led by Avaana Capital, an Indian venture-growth investment firm, according to a press statement.
Existing investors including Shunwei Capital, India Quotient, Kae Capital and 3One4 Capital also participated in the round, according to several reports.
The reported investment marks the sixth round of capital raised by the Mumbai-based LoanTap since its inception in 2016. In January this year, the startup raised $8 million (around Rs 57 crore) in a fresh round of funding led by 3one4 Capital.
For the Series B round, Avaana Capital reportedly invested Rs 25.49 crore, while Shunwei invested Rs 6.99 crore, Entrackr reported. India Quotient invested Rs 6.99 crore in the startup via its IQ Alpha III fund, according to an Entrackr report.
VCCircle has reached out to LoanTap regarding the fresh investment and will update the story accordingly.
LoanTrap, which is operated by LoanTap Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd, was founded by Satyam Kumar and Vikas Kumar. Satyam has at least 17 years of experience in the loans industry, and has worked with IndusInd Bank, Deutsche Postbank, ICICI Bank and chemicals firm ICI India.
Vikas, who is the startup’s chief technology officer, has over 16 years of experience in the software industry. He founded and exited Brainvasa, a Pune-based e-learning firm.
The startup offers personal loans to salaried professionals earning Rs 30,000 and above and gives loan tenures from six months to five years. The company, whose loans range between Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh, charges anywhere between 15-24% in annual interest.
The firm, which is currently operational in at least 14 cities across the country, lends through its own books and has also partnered with other NBFCs and banks to disburse loans.
Deals in the NBFC segment
There have been several investment and partnership moves in the NBFC segment even as the sector continues to face a liquidity crunch that began after infrastructure development and finance company IL&FS collapsed last year.
Last week, Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal acquired Chaitanya Rural Intermediation Development Services Pvt. Ltd by investing Rs 739 crore (about $104 million) in the company and taking charge as its CEO.
Earlier in September, the Singapore-based oCap Management Pte Ltd picked up a minority stake in a Chennai-based NBFC for its expansion into India. Similarly, VCCircle reported that IIFL Finance Ltd raised a significant amount of funding from a Canadian firm. IIFL is also backed by billionaire Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial.