CreditWise Capital Pvt. Ltd, a non-banking financial company that offers loans for the purchase of two-wheelers, said Tuesday it has raised $6 million (about Rs 44 crore) in a seed funding round.
The round was led by Mayank Shah, the chairman of the real estate-focussed MJ Shah Group, Mumbai-based CreditWise said in a statement.
Other participants include serial investor Ajay Goel, Venture Catalysts co-founder Anuj Golecha, EssGee Group director Gaurav Gandhi, Shanti Group director Anup Agarwal and angel investor Gaurav Singhvi.
The company was set up in August 2018 by Aalesh Avlani and Hirak Joshi. Avlani is also a co-founder of micro-venture capital firm Samyakth Capital, as are Golecha and Gandhi. Joshi was previously national product head of two-wheeler loans at ICICI bank, where he worked for 17 years.
CreditWise currently focusses on providing two-wheeler financing, and says it combines traditional lending processes with financial technology-based data science.
The company claims its focus on collection processes through a mix of human capital and technology helps keep underwriting and collection costs in check.
It will use the capital it has raised to grow its dealer network, increase its geographical reach, and enhance its collection technology and underwriting models. Currently, the startup is present in Mumbai and Pune, and says it has an active dealer network of more than 100.
“The razor-sharp focus on cost reduction to achieve scalability in this business was one of the primary reasons for our investment in CreditWise Capital,” Shah said.
The company claims to have disbursed loans for 12,000 two-wheelers in 16 months, with an average ticket size of Rs 65,000. Institutions it has partnered with include AU Small Finance Bank, Hinduja Leyland Finance and Vivriti Capital.
CreditWise is among the handful of vehicle-focussed NBFCs that have raised capital in the past few months. In August, VCCircle reported that Faering Capital-backed WheelsEMI had raised fresh capital in a flat Series C round.
In March, Mumbai-based AutoMony raised around Rs 22.28 crore in a Series A funding round from investors including Asha Impact and Sundaram Finance.
In February this year, mid-market growth capital firm Amicus Capital invested Rs 70 crore in Berar Finance Ltd, a small non-banking finance company in Nagpur that gives out loans for buying two-wheelers.