Lendingkart Pockets $10 Mn For Onward Lending To Small Businesses

Fintech startup Lendingkart has raised $10 Mn (INR 83.5 Cr) via external commercial borrowing from a fund managed by Swiss impact investor BlueOrchard. 

Lendingkart will deploy the freshly raised funding for onward lending activities to MSMEs.

The startup said in a statement that the non-convertible debentures (NCDs) were listed on the India International Exchange (IFSC) in GIFT City. It also claimed itself to be among the first few issuers to leverage unified depository to issue ISIN for a foreign currency bond.

“At Lendingkart, we see this investment as a testament to our unwavering dedication to supporting Indian MSMEs. It is a validation of our mission to democratise access to finance and champion entrepreneurship,” said founder and CEO Harshvardhan Lunia. 

Founded in 2014 by Lunia, Lendingkart disburses loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The startup has two main revenue sources – income from interest and financial services offerings. It claims to have disbursed 2.8 Lakh loans worth over $1.8 Bn across India since inception. 

It competes against the likes of Incred, Yubi, Indifi and Kinara Capital among others.

A few days back, Kinara Capital bagged $24.4 Mn debt from BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund and Impact Investment Exchange (IIX). 

It is pertinent to note that BlueOrchard has been expanding its lending startups portfolio this year via BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund.

Besides, BlueOrchard also backed home loan provider AVIOM Housing Finance Corporation (AVIOM HFC) and education focussed NBFC Varthana last month. 

Meanwhile, in June last year, Lendingkart raised $24 Mn debt from EvolutionX Debt Capital. Back then, it said that the fresh capital would be used to drive its growth and revenue for FY23.

The Ahmedabad-based startup turned profitable in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) with a consolidated net profit of INR 118.8 Cr as against a net loss of INR 203.4 Cr in the prior fiscal, helped by a huge decline in its spending towards impairment loss on financial assets, loans and advances.

In the fiscal, Lendingkart’s operating revenue also jumped 29.5% to INR 798.4 Cr from INR FY22’s 616.4 Cr.

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