Retail Financing Startup Progcap Raises $30 Mn Series C; Eyes $1 Bn Loan Disbursals By FY22

Delhi NCR-based corporate retail financing startup Progcap has raised $30 Mn equity capital as part of its Series C funding round led by existing investors Tiger Global and Creation Investments.

The funding round also saw participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital and GrowX Ventures.

The funds raised will be used to accelerate its supply chain banking platform for its merchants and corporate network in India. Progcap stated that it aims to reach $1 Bn loan disbursals by March 2022.

Founded in 2017 by Pallavi Shrivastava and Himanshu Chandra, Progcap claims that its platform has been used by 450K retailers across 60 corporates. The fintech startup has disbursed loans worth INR 2,500 Cr (over $336 Mn) for India’s multi-tiered supply chains, the company said.

Taking the non-traditional approach, Progcap provides collateral-free working capital to underbanked semi-urban and rural retailers in India. The startup also offers finance and supply chain-based solutions for micro and small enterprises.

Working at the intersection of software and financial services, Progcap claims to have increased its monthly disbursal volume by 400% and expanded business operations across 10 industries, while also expanding its senior leadership with the appointments of ex-McKinsey & Co Abhinav Singh as chief growth officer and ex-Policy Bazaar CTO Ashish Gupta as head of the tech and product functions for the startup.

The current round comes only three months after it raised $25 Mn in its Series B round, stating its vision to impact over 5 Mn enterprises by the end of 2023.

Digital lending is one of the fastest-growing segments in India’s evolving fintech industry. As per a Statista report, India’s market of digital lending grew from $9 Bn in 2012 to $150 Bn in 2020, slated to reach $350 Bn by 2023.

According to Inc42 Plus analysis, within fintech, lending is amongst the hottest sectors right now. In Q3 2021, fintech startups raised $2.7 Bn in funding. Out of the total 79 deals reported in fintech, about 35% or 28 deals were recorded by the lending sector. The sector attracted $547 Mn in funding.

After the startup funding and acquisitions ecosystem saw a record-breaking Q3, the beginning of Q4 2021 saw IPO-bound Paytm acquire a 100% stake in Mumbai-based digital lending startup CreditMate.

Further, last week, Chennai-based CredAvenue which connects enterprises with lenders and investors raised $90 Mn in Series A funding led by Sequoia Capital taking the startup’s valuation to $410 Mn. BNPL startup Capital Float also raised $50 Mn in equity funding to strengthen and scale the platform and expand its partner ecosystem.

Some of the other lending startups in the retail financing ecosystem include Indifi, Kissht, StashFin, Ftcash, CashE among others.