DMI Finance Raises $400 Mn From Japan’s MUFG Bank, SuMi TRUST Bank

Mumbai-based DMI Finance has raised $400 Mn in a funding round led by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, through its subsidiary MUFG Bank. Existing investor Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (SuMi TRUST Bank) also participated in the funding round. DMI said the round included both primary and secondary transactions.

The investment comes after DMI Finance raised $47 Mn from SuMi TRUST Bank, NXC Corporation and New Investment Solutions in January 2022. The current round takes the total funding raised by the non-banking financial company (NBFC) to $900 Mn.

Founded in 2008 by Shivashish Chatterjee and Yuvraja C Singh, DMI Finance is a pure-play digital lender with products including consumption, personal and MSME loans. DMI Finance sources and services customers through digital channels. It is an embedded digital finance partner for the likes of Samsung, Google Pay and Airtel.

The NBFC claims to cover 95% of India’s pin codes and has an accessible customer base of 25 Mn, adding that its customer base is expected to grow to 40 Mn+ in FY24.

Shivashish Chatterjee, cofounder and joint managing director of DMI Finance said, “DMI Finance aims to be the trusted partner for Indian households and small businesses in addressing their rapidly growing financial needs. We are delighted to welcome MUFG and SuMi TRUST Bank on this pioneering mission, on which we embarked in 2016, of providing credit in real time to our clients.”

Adding to the conversation, Yuvraja C. Singh, cofounder and joint managing director of DMI Finance said, “We feel that the Indian financial market has huge potential for growth over the next decade (or two) and are fortunate to have the strategic investors that we do, who share our values and long-term vision. There is a large underserved population when it comes to financial services in India, and it is our goal to promote financial inclusion and support this market.”

The mega investment from SuMi TRUST Bank and MUFG Bank into DMI Finance comes when India’s startup ecosystem is going through an ongoing funding winter. Per Inc42 data, startup funding plummeted 75% in Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2022.

Masashige Nakazono, managing director, head of the Global Commercial Banking Planning Division of MUFG Bank said that the bank was excited to support the NBFC’s growth through its investment as a strategic partner to drive financial inclusion in India.

 “We strongly believe that DMI Finance has been building up a robust and distinguished business model with an external partnership based on the power of its cutting-edge technologies,” added Nakazono.

Further, Masaya Noda, managing executive officer of SuMi TRUST Bank, which had also invested in the NBFC about 15 months ago, said the near-century-old Japanese bank will look forward to working with DMI Finance as a business partner.

According to Inc42’s ‘Indian Tech Startup Funding Report, Q1 2023’, fintech was the top sector in raising funds during the first quarter of 2023, having raised $1.3 Bn across 25 deals.