KPCB And Sherpalo-Backed PayMate Acquires Digital Lending Platform Z2P

Mumbai-based B2B payments company PayMate has announced the acquisition of micro-lending institution Zaitech Technology Pvt Ltd (Z2P) with the aim of speeding up credit applications and the credit decision-making processes for small-medium enterprises (SMEs).

With the acquisition, PayMate further plans to partner with banks and NBFCs to improve the flow of credit to SMEs. This is a follow-up of the announcement of a B2B partnership agreement with Visa in February of this year by PayMate.

Ajay Adiseshann, founder and CEO of PayMate, said, “We will leverage Z2P and PayMate’s technology and analytics to speed up the credit application and the credit decision-making processes for SMEs and provide supply chain financing solutions to our large corporate clients.”

Z2P Technologies was founded in 2016 by Ajay, an IIT Madras alumnus. It provides easy micro-loans and enables better financial decisions for lenders by leveraging technology and data to make low-risk, real-time lending decisions. After the acquisition, the team is said to be relocating to Mumbai.

Another co-founder of Z2P Technologies, Rajat Yadav, said, “Technology and data-driven actionable intelligence for lending, along with machine learning, is what Z2P has built over the past few years. We look forward to joining the PayMate team and collaborate our credit and payment technologies, along with our experience to enhance the quality and flow of credit to SMEs in India.”

PayMate, on the other hand, is a provider of digital payment solutions based in Mumbai. Its banking partners include the State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Corporation Bank, Kotak Bank, Syndicate Bank, South Indian Bank, Dena Bank, and ABN Amro ABN Amro. PayMate India was funded in 2006 by Silicon Valley-based venture capital companies Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and Sherpalo Ventures along with Mayfield Fund and Lightbox Ventures.

In the most recent development, Sequoia and Mayfield-backed Knowlarity Communications acquired cloud telephony startup Sunoray Solution to leverage the technological needs of the SMEs. The startup offers SMEs tech-based products such as tele-calling software, cloud-based communication apps, virtual receptionist, among others, to cater to diverse business needs.

Also, Bengaluru-based online SME lending platform Capital Float raised its first international debt investment of $7.2 Mn (INR 48 Cr) for onward lending to SMEs. Similarly, Gurugram-headquartered online lending startup Aye Finance has raised $4.6 Mn (INR 30 Cr) to diversify its lending portfolio to SMEs in India. Further, Delhi-based SME lending startup Namaste Credit raised $3.8 Mn in Series A round of funding from Nexus Venture Partners.

SMEs and MSMEs in India are the key drivers of future economic growth. However, the greatest impediment to their growth today is the lack of credit — estimated at $300 Bn. As the startup claims, it further aims to chip away at this credit gap by enabling credit and helping SMEs grow.