Exclusive: Fresh Funding Pours In For LetsTransport, Stellapps, PaisaBazaar

Amid the runway scarcity and attempts to extend it, three startups have secured fresh funding to ramp up their operational demands.

According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings accessed by Inc42, Paisabazaar on May 28 approved and allotted 1,83,823 equity shares at a face value of INR 10 with a premium of INR 262 per share worth INR 4.99 Cr to its parent entity, Etechaces Marketing and Consulting Private Limited.

For the uninitiated, PolicyBazaar Group has two entities: PolicyBazaar and PaisaBazaar. PolicyBazaar started operations in 2008 as a web aggregator and comparison website for insurance products. Later, in February 2014, it started PaisaBazaar — its financial advisory platform — thereby marking its entry in the digital lending space.

PolicyBazaar as a group has raised $364 Mn till date from investors such as InfoEdge, SoftBank, Tiger Global, Temasek among others. 

Stride’s Debt To LetsTransport, Stellapps

Tech-enabled logistics marketplace Diptab Ventures Pvt. Ltd, which runs under the brand name LetsTransport, has raised INR 5 Cr in debt from Stride Ventures.

According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings accessed by Inc42, the company on June 9, 2020 allotted 500 Series A non-convertible debentures at a nominal value of INR 1 Lakh worth INR 5 Cr.

Founded in January 2015 by Pushkar Singh, Sudarshan Ravi and Ankit Parasher, LetsTransport facilitates inter-city aggregation of mini trucks and large vehicles across industry sectors such as retail, FMCG and ecommerce across B2B and B2C segments. During the lockdown, LetsTransport worked to deliver essential items like groceries. But going forward, the startup might be soon delivering non-essential items as well and the funding will help the startup to bounce back quickly.

Bengaluru-based dairytech startup Stellapps had floated an offer to raise INR 5 Cr from Stride Ventures in two tranches on June 12, 2020, as per the Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings accessed by Inc42.

Of this, Stride Ventures has subscribed to 300 non-convertible debentures at a face value of INR 1 Lakh per debenture worth INR 3 Cr. Further, the firm has the option to subscribe to the remaining 200 NCDs at a later date.

Further, these debentures have been tied with the issue of warrants. For the subscription of 300 debentures, the company will offer 890 Warrants by payment of INR 890 by Stride Ventures. Similarly, for the tranche 2 of 200 NCDs, the company will issue 594 Warrants to Stride Ventures with payment of INR 594.

The company in its meeting also approved the terms of allotment of Stellapps Technologies Private Limited – Employee Stock Option Plan 2020. 

Founded by Ranjith Mukundan and Venkatesh Seshasayee in 2011 and incubated by IIT Madras, Stellapps offers end-to-end dairy technology solutions. The startup produces and procures comprehensive farm optimisation and monitoring support solution to help dairy farmers and cooperatives maximise profits while minimising effort.

The company claims to operate in more than 25,000 villages and touch 7 Mn litres of milk per day. The company has previously raised funds from Walden Riverwood Ventures IndusAge, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Omnivore Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, ABB Ventures and Blume Ventures among other investors.

Founded in 2019 by Ishpreet Gandhi, Stride Ventures is focussing on providing debt across early stages at Pre-Series A or higher, with a loan tenure of 1-1.5 years. The firm claims to provide short-term debt with varied tenures as per business requirements and also keeps variable ticket sizes, enabling tailor-made venture debt for businesses.

In December 2019, Stride announced that it has marked the first close of its first fund at INR 100 Cr ($14.09 Mn). The first fund’s target is to raise INR 500 Cr ($70.45 Mn). At the time, it also announced its investment in Stellapps. 

Update: June 15, 2020 | 20:20 

After the story was published, LetsTransport announced that it has raised INR 10 Cr in debt from Stride Ventures, taking total fundraise amid pandemic to INR 33 Cr. Pushkar Singh, cofounder & CEO, LetsTransport, said, “In a bid to help streamline urban logistics for enterprises in these trying times, we are constantly scaling up our operations and network by enhancing our capabilities. Enterprise businesses are increasingly looking to partner with organized logistics players to facilitate direct to consumer deliveries. “

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