Consumer Lending Fintech Startup Credit Fair Raises $15 Mn In Seed Round

Consumer lending fintech startup Credit Fair has raised $15M as part of its seed round led Angels Investors Anand Ladsariya and Alok Agarwal who have previously backed startups including OYO, Ola, Myntra, Healthkart, WowMomos, Uniphore and 1mg.

The company will deploy the funds to augment its technology team, enhance underwriting models and expand into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to scale its assets under management and progress further in its mission of delivering financial inclusion.

Founded by Aditya Damani in 2018, the B2B2C lending focused fintech startup aims to build a credit ladder for 550 Mn underserved Indians. It offers lending solutions to both businesses and private individuals at no cost or low cost, unsecured loan options at the point of sale. The ticket size ranges from INR 10k to 20L and tenure from 3 months to 3 years. 

So far, the company claims to have clients such as  upGrad, Nova IVF, Design Cafe, Asian Paints, Arrivae, Hero Electric and Ampere by Greaves to name a few.  

Angel Investor Anand Ladsariya added, “India is among the fastest-growing fintech markets in the world while boasting of the highest fintech adoption rate globally. The rise of new-age fintech companies such as Credit Fair is contributing to this trend. We are confident in Credit Fair’s vision and the dedication of its strong founding team as they work towards making India a more financially inclusive country.”

The growing number of internet subscribers and smartphone users across the country and the Indian government’s proactive digital drive to ensure financial inclusion have seen the market for fintech solutions grow at a fast clip.

Thanks to the growing urbanisation and a rise in formal employment across Indian cities, the addressable market for consumer credit is poised to increase. Lending tech startups accounted for 44% of the total venture capital investment in Indian fintech startups in 2020, a surge from a meagre 9.6% in 2015, indicates a rise in investor confidence in this subsector.

Fintech was the top startup sector in terms of funding amount ($2.1 Bn) and deal count (131) in 2020, putting it among the top startup sectors which hugely benefited from the Covid-19 outbreak in India. It saw a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% (9.6% precisely) in deal count between 2015 and 2020 and a CAGR of 6.1% in terms of total venture capital inflow.