Matrix Partners India Leads $9 Million Series A Investment in Fintech Company Avail Finance
Fin-tech platform Avail Finance has raised its Series A round of
financing of $ 9 Million led by Matrix Partners India according to a statement.
Founded in 2017 by Ankush Aggarwal and Tushar Mehndiratta, Avail Finance
focusses on blue-collar segment. Avail has multiple products that are
customized to this segment - Personal Loans, Salary advances, savings etc. They
also help their customers in understanding the importance of being financially
independent. Avail will use these funds to expand its product suite to also
offer micro-savings and micro-insurance products tailored specifically for the
blue-collar workers. In March 2018, Matrix India had led the seed investment in
Avail Finance along with other marquee angel investors including Binny Bansal,
Kunal Shah, Founder of Cred, Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Founders of Ola
and Manish Patel, Founder of Mswipe.
The blue-collar segment in India includes security guards, delivery executives, drivers, housekeeping staff etc, who have a monthly income in the range INR 8,000 - 35,000. This segment is often neglected by the traditional financial services players as cost of acquiring and servicing these customers is too high. Avail Finance partners with various aggregators of blue-collar workers such as Ola, Swiggy, Ecom Express, Quess Corp, etc and provides innovative financial products for such workers. One such product is an interest free, short term loan to assist them during their frequent cash flow problems. Borrowers have the flexibility to leave a tip, if they were satisfied with the service and experience.
Ankush Aggarwal, Founder and CEO of
Avail Finance said, “Our
mission is to provide a financial umbrella to every Indian. While we started
with a pure-play lending product, we realized that the blue-collar segment
needs a more holistic financial platform. We believe that with our unique
combination of customized products and focus on customer experience, we can
work towards enabling true financial inclusion, while serving these customers
profitably.”
“Low
income consumers are underserved when it comes to financial
services and pay the higher access cost for basic financial services.
Avail offers a unique product combining micro-savings, loans and insurances
that help blue collar workers tide over short term cash flow shocks every
month. We believe in Ankush's vision and are excited
to continue partnering on this journey with the Avail
team." said Vikram
Vaidyanathan, MD, Matrix India.
Matrix Partners India is an investment firm with approximately $1 billion under management. Founded in 2006, the firm invests in companies targeting the Indian consumer and enterprise market at the seed, early and early growth stages.
