Fintech firm IndiaLends plans to raise more funds in 8-10 months

New Delhi-based fintech company IndiaLends is looking to raise more capital in the next 8-10 months to fuel growth. 

IndiaLends had mopped up $10 million in June 2018 from ACPI Investment Managers and Ganesh Ventures to enable the company grow in areas like technology, marketing and human resource.

“The funding market is pretty attractive right now. In the next 8-10 months, we will be looking to raise more capital to fuel our growth,” said Gaurav Chopra, founder of IndiaLends.

“We raised $10 million just a few months back. Moreover, our investors have deep pockets. So, we will probably raise money from them or get external capital as and when the need arises,” he added.

The current investors in the fintech company include DSG Consumer Partners, AdvantEdge Partners, Ganesh Ventures and ACPI Investment Managers. Siddarth Parekh and Gautam Radhakrishnan are also investors in the company.

The company, which is focusing only on unsecured credit, has a loan book of Rs 1,000 crore over a period of three years and a customer base of five million people. The default rate of the firm is less than 2 per cent, which is manageable, said Chopra.

On the company’s focus in the coming quarters, Chopra said, “We have always been focusing on the consumer. We believe it is a model which is scalable. This is especially true in the personal finance space. More and more Indians are now comfortable in taking credit. This is where we are seeing a huge demand for credit.”

The firm is now looking at launching a new line of business in the e-commerce space. “Instead of giving credit to the customer, the money will be directly facilitated to the e-commerce platform. This will save time as well as hassles and the underwriting will be done in a manner so that the money transfer takes place immediately,” said Chopra. It is also looking to launch a virtual line of credit which will essentially make the consumer feel that he has credit available with him whenever he needs it.

The company has tied up with 50 banks and NBFCs. Major private sector banks like HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank and NBFCs like Tata Capital, Bajaj Capital and IIFL supply credit to the digital lender.

On looking to forge new tie-ups with lenders, Chopra said, “Now, with 50 banks and NBFCs, we have enough suppliers of credit. If any new player comes along with a sizeable book and if he can match the appetite of the demand that we are generating, then we will obviously look at a tie up.”

However, the company has no intention of getting an NBFC licence as it has enough suppliers of credit. “As long as these suppliers of credit are working with us and we don’t see any issues coming along, we will stay away from that model (NBFC model)”, said Chopra.