Ashneer Grover Takes The Fintech Route Again, Launches Lending Tech Platform ZeroPe

As rumblings continue at his previous fintech venture BharatPe, Ashneer Grover plans to take another plunge into the sector with his new venture. Grover has joined forces with Aseem Ghavri to float a new lending tech startup called ZeroPe.

This is Ashneer Grover’s second venture under the banner of his company Third Unicorn, which also launched the fantasy cricket app CrickPe last year.

As per ZeroPe’s website, the new platform will offer medical loans up to INR 5 Lakh to end customers, which can only be availed at the company’s partner hospitals. The startup has tied up with Delhi-based non-banking financial company (NBFC) Mukut Finvest to roll out the new offering.

The development was first reported by Moneycontrol.

The new offering comes in the midst of multiple legal battles between Grover and his former employer BharatPe. The two have been at odds with each other since 2022 when the former MD of the company unceremoniously exited the company after alleged financial irregularities at BharatPe came to fore.

While one case involves alleged financial irregularities by Grover and wife Madhuri Jain Grover to the tune of INR 89 Cr, the other case pertains to the fintech giant trying to claw back shares from him. 

The media spectacle has seen Grover publicly lash out at the company and even trained guns at the fintech startup’s board chairman Rajnish Kumar.

Grover’s new experiment with the lending tech space comes as the fintech segment continues to see rapid adoption on the back of growing digital penetration and the demand for small-ticket loans.

In the burgeoning healthcare financing ecosystem, ZeroPe will compete with the likes of legacy players such as HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserve, Arogya Finance, Hero FinCorp, among others. It will also lock horns with startups such as CASHe, Fibe, Arogya Finance, among others.

As per Inc42, the Indian digital consumer lending market is projected to surpass the $720 Bn mark by 2030, representing more than half of the total $1.3 Tn+ market opportunity. 

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