Moneyclub Technologies Pvt Ltd, which operates chit-fund platform The Money Club, has raised a seed funding round led by startup incubator and accelerator Venture Catalysts.
Other participants in the round for the Noida-based platform include angel investment platform LetsVenture and the Keiretsu Forum, the startup said in a statement.
The funding sum was not disclosed.
The Money Club was set up by Manuraj Jain and Surajit Ray, both of whom are alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur. The platform says it leverages machine learning algorithms to bring transparency into chit fund groups.
Users can join and create their own networks, with these algorithms also monitoring their behaviour, transaction histories and patterns. The platform also verifies users’ identities and only allows those with a good history to join and create clubs with bigger pools.
Jain said the platform is aiming to serve and deliver financial services to lower middle-class economic segments, which are underserved by current offerings present in the financial system.
“According to industry data, chit fund users are often subjected to fraud by the cashiers. With its unique approach and technological expertise, The Money Club is not only addressing this problem but also enabling easier access to this saving-based financial product,” Venture Catalysts co-founder and president Apoorv Ranjan Sharma said.
The investment in The Money Club is the latest bet by Venture Catalysts, which has made several commitments this year despite the nationwide disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Venture Catalysts, set up in 2015 by Sharma, Anuj Golecha, Anil Jain and Gaurav Jain, invests between $250,000 and $1.5 million in early-stage startups and provides networking and mentoring to its portfolio companies.
Its other bets this year have been on herbal products brand Green Cure, robotics startup Peppermint, blue-collar-focused recruitment platform MyKaam, dietary supplement brand Power Gummies, and insure-tech startup Insurance Samadhan.