Vertex Ventures-backed small business lending platform Kissht, operated by OnEMi Technology Solutions Pvt Ltd, has raised Rs 100 crore ($13.36 million) in a debt funding round from Trifecta Capital and Northern Arc Capital, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
As part of the transaction, Trifecta Capital and Nothern Arc have each subscribed to Rs 50 crore of non-convertible debentures (NCDs), the statement said.
With this fundraise, the company has raised Rs 1,200 crore in debt and Rs 270 crore in equity funding to date, it added.
Kissht said it will use the funds to deepen its presence across India and further expand its product offering including credit cards for owners of small business shops. It will also deploy the funds to improve underwriting capabilities to extend credit for first time users using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
Kissht, which was founded by Krishnan Vishwanathan and Ranvir Singh in 2015, provides an instant line of credit for small business transactions and small ticket size personal loans, referring to its own data analytics, Kissht score.
“Our aim at Kissht is to bring instant, hassle-free credit on the back of our self- learning, strong underwriting and collection capabilities paving the way for lower income and small-business owner segment," said Krishnan Vishwanathan, Co-founder, Kissht.
"This funding will further aid our goal of removing financial constraints, expanding our footprint across tier-II centres in India,” added Vishwanathan, who was previously with McKinsey & Co before starting on his entrepreneurial journey.
The company expects total transaction-linked credit volume to increase to Rs 10,000 crore by 2022-23 (FY23), which will be three times higher than its current volume, it said. Kissht is also expecting its overall revenue to top Rs 500 crore for 2021-22 (FY22) and expects a profit before tax of Rs 50 crore for the year. It also plans to expand its business to 10 million unique borrowers.
“Kissht is catering to a large and untapped opportunity in India today, and has demonstrated leadership in this segment through focused customer acquisition, underwriting prowess, control on credit costs and innovative collection processes,” said Rahul Khanna, Managing Partner, Trifecta Capital, which marked the first close of its third venture debt fund in November last year.
Notably, the company had roped in Sachin Bansal as a debt investor in 2019. Bansal reportedly had made a Rs 50 crore debt investment in the company.
In 2018, the company had raised $30 million as a part of its Series C funding round from Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India and Sistema Asia Fund.