Instamojo Launches Sachet Loans Via Whatsapp

Instamojo, full stack technology provider has launched its flagship of sachet loans via Whatsapp.  

“Within three weeks of the launch, it helped third-party lenders to sanction 292 loans opted by 138 people where average ticket size was Rs 6,355,” said Sampad Swain, Co-founder and CEO, Instamojo.  

These sachet loans are typically small-sized credit against merchant on-the-platform sales. Whether or not the merchant is eligible is determined by his transaction history. Every merchant starts with a small limit, and the limit may increase as the merchants collect more payments using Instamojo. These are small loans of up to Rs 20,000. The move appears to have brought encouraging results in its initial phase with Rs 19 lakh disbursal. 

“We have recorded a 40% increase in small business owners opting for sachet loans after the announcement of COVID-19 lockdown,” added Swain.  

This Bengaluru based fintech company, a digital enabler and payments platform for micro-businesses provides a host of services ranging from digital payments, logistics to lending to MSMEs to build, manage and grow their business and also plans to introduce promotional services this year to help the sector stay relevant in a competitive digital business landscape. 

The company had rolled out credit product Mojo Capital in late 2018 and the firm has allocated Rs 230 crore worth loan in the past two-and-half years. 

Since the coronavirus lockdown, things are not too bright for the fintech space. Majority of the businesses have been facing no or very little business, digital enablers catering to MSMEs have started recovering at a decent pace after the first two phases of the ongoing lockdown. The sector has seen a downfall in business by up to 30 per cent as non-essential e-commerce. To cope up with the same crisis and extent the runaway, Instamojo has also announced pay cuts for about two-third of its workforce wherein senior employees are taking a 40% cut while there is 10% cut for mid-level employees.  

Earlier this month, Instamojo claimed a 20% surge in gross profit in April as compared to the previous month. During the period, it also reduced its net burn by 50%.  

The company has also rolled out Priority KYC last month which allows merchants to go online with their products in just 5 minutes. These initiatives and the slow reopening of businesses have allowed the company to acquire 1,500 merchants daily in April. 

The Kalaari-backed company had also acquired digital commerce enabler GetMeAShop. The acquisition has been helping Instamojo’s existing million-plus merchants to go online with payments, logistics and lending facilities.