Bengaluru-based Goddard Technical Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which operates online lending platform Avail Finance, has raised another $9 million (Rs 62.2 crore) as part of its Series A funding round led by existing investor Matrix Partners India.
Avail Finance will use the funds to offer additional products like micro-savings and micro-insurance designed specifically for the blue-collar workers, it said in a statement.
Blue-collar workers include security guards, delivery executives, drivers and housekeeping staff who have a monthly income of Rs 8,000-35,000. They often find difficult to avail loans from traditional financial institutions in the country.
“Low-income consumers are underserved when it comes to financial services and pay higher access cost for basic financial services," saisd Vikram Vaidyanathan, managing director, Matrix India.
"Avail offers a unique product combining micro-savings, loans and insurances that help blue-collar workers tide over short-term cash flow shocks every month," he added.
Avail Finance was founded by Ankush Aggarwal and Tushar Mehndiratta in February 2017. It had raised angel funding of $200,000 from Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal the same year. Avail Finance also provides its services to Ola workers. It also has partnerships with Swiggy, Ecom Express and Quess Corp to provide its services.
Last year, Avail Finance raised $17.2 million in a round led by Matrix India. Ola founders Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, FreeCharge founder Kunal Shah and Mswipe founder Manish Patel had also participated in the round.
Matrix Partners
Incorporated in 2006, Matrix Partners India has over the years changed from a quasi-private-equity investor to a conventional venture capital firm with a focus on tech startups.
Earlier this year, the VC firm finished fundraising for its third fund at $300 million.
It has so far backed more than 60 companies including Ola, mobile payment services firm Mswipe, digital healthcare firm Practo and social commerce platform Limeroad.
This year, it has invested in companies including education-technology startup Pesto and dairy startup Country Delight.
