Exclusive: Vayana Network To Raise $19 Mn From Marshall Wace, March Capital

Fintech startup Vayana Network is raising INR 144 Cr in a new round of funding from marquee investors such as UK’s CDC Group, US-based March Capital, and Marshall Wace. 

Chiratae Ventures, Jungle Ventures, Orpat Group, and Trifecta Capital will also participate in this round of funding. 

Marshall Wace will lead the round and invest INR 43.7 Cr, followed by US-based March Capital who will be infusing INR 38 Cr. 

The investment comes almost three years after the startup raised $4 Mn from IDG Ventures and Jungle Ventures. 

Founded in 2009 by Ramaswami Iyer, Vayana Network is a B2B trade financial intermediary, which connects small, medium enterprises (SMEs) and corporates with financial institutions for low-cost access to trade loans.  The company in 2018 had acquired SahiGST, a startup offering cloud-based GST return filing and compliance solutions, to enhance its portfolio offerings in the GST and E-Way Bill space.

According to its website, the startup has disbursed $5 Bn worth of loans across 300 supply chains, till date. Vayana Network claims that it has already processed more than 1.7 Mn transactions, and has helped more than 1,000 MSMEs, across 25 industries covering 1,300 pincodes in 600+ cities and over 20 countries.  

The fintech startup helps its clients access credit from banks and non-bank lenders for up to 90 days for a fee that varies from 20-40 bps (basis points) of the interest, which is priced at 12% to 15%.

The Pune-based startup, last year, claimed that it was aiming to double down on the loan disbursement to $10 Bn by 2022. 

Vayana Network, on its Linkedin, claims to be the country’s largest third-party platform for trade finance. 

In 2020, Vayana Network’s founder and CEO told news agency PTI that the company was disbursing around INR 3,000 Cr as loans every month.