Exclusive: Lendingkart Raising INR 86 Cr From Fullerton, Bertelsmann & Others

Ahmedabad-based fintech startup Lendingkart is continuing its Series D funding round with a new investment from its existing investors Fullerton Financial Holdings, Bertelsmann, Sistema Asia Fund and India Quotient.

According to the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) filings, Lendingkart is raising INR 86.24 Cr in this round which is led by Fullerton. The filings reveal that Fullerton is investing INR 43.1 Cr while Sistema is infusing INR 5.62 Cr. Bertelsmann and India Quotient are investing INR 15 Cr each in this fund mop-up.

As part of the transaction, Lendingkart is issuing 7,197 preference shares to Fullerton while Bertelsmann is getting around 2,503 shares. Bertelsmann and India Quotient are getting 2,503 each. The price per share for this deal is INR 14,394 with a nominal price of INR 100.

Prior to this, Lendingkart had raised $30 Mn (INR 212 Cr) in an equity funding round led by existing investors including Fullerton Financial Holdings, Bertelsmann India Investments and India Quotient in August 2019.

Founded in 2014 by ex-banker Harshvardhan Lunia and former ISRO scientist Mukul Sachan, Lendingkart is an instant working capital finance platform that provides SMEs with easy access to credit and working capital. Sachan had stepped down from his role of a chief operating officer in September last year.

Lendingkart claims to have a presence in more than 1,300 cities across the country. It also claims to have disbursed over 100K loans to close to 90K small and medium businesses in the last six years.

According to DataLabs by Inc42 estimates, the credit demand in India is projected to be worth $1.41 Tn by 2022. The credit demand in India is projected to be worth $1.41 Tn by 2022, an annual growth rate of 3.73% between FY17 and FY22. The prevalence of digital lending startups in India has opened new opportunities for synergies between fintech startups and established financial institutions and banks.

Recently, many investors have invested in lending startups. For instance, Chennai-based fintech startup CreditMantri is raising around INR 6 Cr from its existing investors — IDG Ventures, Elevar Equity and impact investor Accion.

Previously, Bengaluru-based NIRA raised $2.1 Mn in Pre-Series A funding round from new and existing investors based in the UK and India while Indian School Finance Company is raising INR 40 Cr from US-based impact investor Gray Matters Capital Inc.