Fintech Startup Kredent Secures $1.1 Mn From Ramesh Damani, Others

Kolkata-based fintech company Kredent InfoEdge has secured $1.1 Mn (INR 8 Cr) in Pre-Series A funding from renowned stock market investor Ramesh Damani and Singapore-based hedge fund manager along with another undisclosed investor.

The startup has already received $688.8K (INR 5 Cr) in its kitty, while $413.3K (INR 3 Cr) is still under process.

Founded in 2008 by Bajaj, Kredent InfoEdge is into the business of Simplifying Finance for everyone. Simplifying finance includes— Training using e-learning on various aspects of financial management, access to right financial data in the most effective presentation, access to readymade analytics for efficient decision making and facilitating execution in both asset and liability products.

Vivek Bajaj, Managing Director and CEO, Kredent InfoEdge told Inc42 that the company plans to use the funds to introduce new and innovative products that will help the participants to build a career and the investors, traders and professionals to profit from the markets.

Ramesh Damani said, “I have closely watched the journey of Kredent InfoEdge over one year and its intense focus on innovation has always given me a lot of confidence. Empowering retail investors is the need of the hour and Kredent has already made its mark in the Fintech industry and now I am excited to be able to further catalyse its growth as an investor.”

Kredent: Simplifying Finance For Everyone

The company’s vision is to simplify finance for everyone by providing the right learning and relevant analytics for effective decision making.

While at the beginning, the company was doing more of a CSR initiative by contributing to financial learning, after 2012 it realised the market and then started putting out paid products and services.

Kredent InfoEdge is currently developing new products that will bring investment in various financial assets within the reach of the common people of India.

A few such existing products include:

• Elearnmarkets: It offers over 100 e-learning courses in finance and also offers various career-oriented courses with joint certification from NSE Academy, NCDEX and MCX and expert-led boot camps, seminars and webinars.
• In 2016 Kredent InfoEdge introduced StockEdge, a self-help stock market analytics app that has been downloaded by more than a million investors till date.
• It has recently introduced a premium plan and the StockEdge Club, a community of stock market investors. It focuses on providing education and networking opportunities to the members both online and through its chapters in eight cities across India.

Bajaj further shared that the company has trained over 10,000 participants offline through its centre in Kolkata since 2008. It further claims to have over 100K learners on the online portal Elearnmarkets, launched in 2014.

At present, India is in the middle of fintech revolution. According to Inc42 Indian Tech Startup Funding Report H1 2018, fintech startups raised $631.29 Mn across 70 deals. The fintech sector marked a sweeping victory, occupying the first spot in terms of tech startup funding in H1 2018.

With more than 500 fintech startups in India, the country is aiming for financial inclusion with even the government currently reviewing the effect of the fintech industry in the country.

On one hand, the government’s aggressive push for cashless technologies such as digital wallets, Internet banking, mobile-driven points of sale, etc, and on the other, the launch of the IndiaStack — eKYC, UPI and BHIM — are forces challenging traditional institutions and the cash-dependent Indian society.

The sector is forecasted to cross $2.4 Bn by 2020, according to KPMG and NASSCOM report. With such the fintech ecosystem is awaiting the next level of growth.

As Bajaj rightly concludes, “With new fund and investors, we will focus on creating the whole ecosystem of financial engagement for a user.”