Lendingkart Group, India’s leading digital lending platform for SMEs has raised Rs. 205 crore ($32M) in new financing; out of which $20M was raised as equity and $12M as debt. This Series B round was led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), with participation from Darrin Capital Management and existing investors – Mayfield India, Saama Capital and India Quotient.
With this new round of funding, the company has raised Rs. 260 crore ($41M) till date. The latest infusion of growth capital will be used by the Lendingkart Group for strengthening its data science capabilities, enhancing its technology platform as well as infrastructure for improved mobile capabilities. Lendingkart Group aims to tap into India’s huge underserved lending market by expanding its footprint further across India. Over the past two years, Lendingkart Group has arranged loans to customers in 135 cities across 22 states, witnessing a 20% month-over-month growth in loan origination.
Founded in 2014, by ex-Banker, ISB Hyderabad alumnus, Harshvardhan Lunia and ex-ISRO scientist, IIM Bangalore alumnus, Mukul Sachan, Lendingkart Group has built a technology platform to service the working capital financing needs of SMEs in India. The company has partnered with leading online marketplaces and various Industry and Trade associations to service the financing needs of both online and offline SMEs.
Harshvardhan Lunia, Co-Founder and CEO, Lendingkart Group said, “Our investors share our vision and have been instrumental in our growth journey. With Bertelsmann onboard, we look forward to leveraging its deep understanding of global financial products as well as Internet Businesses. With Financial Services leaders such as Arvato Financial Solutions as a part of the Group, Bertelsmann has strategic insights of the Fintech space with end to end process knowledge and expertise in digital origination. Bertelsmann brings a fresh perspective on digital distribution and data driven risk assessment which will help us in becoming the leading lending platform for SMEs in India.”
“Customer is at the core of what we do. We believe in providing simple, instant and flexible financing solutions to our borrowers. Using web and smartphones, customers can apply for a loan at their convenience. Our proprietary algorithms use over 2200 variables to assess the applicant’s credit worthiness. With funds being transferred in as less as 24 hours, credit on demand is becoming a reality”, said Lendingkart Group Co-Founder & COO, Mukul Sachan.
Bertelsmann Indian Investments, Managing Director, Pankaj Makkar said, “We are excited to partner with Lendingkart Group to build the next generation lending company in India and we believe lending is a large market which will see a lot of innovation. Lendingkart is a strong example of such innovation where technology and data can provide monetary access to the remote corners of India.”
"Lendingkart Group has been very successful in proving that the underbanked SME space is as credit worthy as the over banked enterprise space.” Mayfield Managing Partner, Vikram Godse said.
Ash Lilani, Managing Partner, Saama Capital said, “We have been investors in Lendingkart Group since the seed round and have been extremely pleased at the pace of growth and how quickly it has established itself as the leader in B2B lending to SMEs. The fact that it is one of the few companies that leverages technology to be the true driver for its business has us very excited about the scale and efficiency as it goes to the next phase of growth.”
Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to this transaction.
