SUMMARY
The education-centric startup plans to reach over 10K schools over the next 5 years
Finwego plans to double its team and build its tech and data infrastructure
The funding round also saw participation from a group of HNIs and angels
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Fintech startup Finwego has announced a $1.7 Mn (INR 11.8 Cr) funding round from private equity firm SAIF Partners along with a group of HNIs and angel investors.
The company said it will use the funds for expansion across state lines, growing a profitable book and strengthening its tech and data infrastructure. The company also plans to apply for an NBFC license.
Finwego classifies itself as an education-focussed fintech startup delivering lending products to all stakeholders of the school ecosystem. Finwego caters to school management, parents, teachers, and vendors and acts as a one-stop-shop for all their financial needs and was the winner of the Harvard Innovation Challenge in 2018.
“With the infusion of new funds, we are looking to build a high calibre team and digital infrastructure to support our robust growth plans. We plan to reach out to 10,000+ schools over the next 5 years and have a pan India presence,” said Shiv Vadivelalagan, cofounder and CEO of Finwego.
Finwego said it has already on-boarded more than 200 schools in the last 6 months. “We are very optimistic about the company’s growth and product innovation and we believe that Finwego can positively contribute to the private school education ecosystem in India while building a profitable business. Excited to partner with them in the next phase of growth,” said Mridul Arora, managing director at SAIF Partners.
Finwego estimates that there are 350K private schools in India that educate about 40% of the school going students in India, which are roughly 100 Mn students. The company also said that it is looking to double its team size in the next 3 months, from the current team strength of 30.
The Indian edtech segment expected to be a $1.96 Bn market by 2021, while according to a Nasscom report fintech market in India is poised to reach $2.4 Bn by 2020 from the current $1.2 Bn. Here, the transaction value for the Indian fintech sector was estimated to be approximately $33 Bn in 2016 and is forecast to reach $73 Bn in 2020 growing at a five-year CAGR of 22%.
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