RupeeRedee NBFC FincFriends Raises $3.5 Mn Funding

SUMMARY

The new funding brings the total raised by the digital lending platform to $11.6 Mn in equity including the last round in September 2022

The lending platform plans to deploy the incoming funding to scale its operations and build new product offerings

Per an Inc42 report, lendingtech is expected to become the largest fintech opportunity, reaching a $1.3 Tn market size by 2030

FincFriends, the captive non-banking financial company (NBFC) of the digital lending platform RupeeRedee, has secured equity funding of $3.5 Mn from its Cyprus-based existing stakeholder Digital Finance International (DFI).

The new funding brings the total raised by the digital lending platform to $11.6 Mn in equity, including the last round in September 2022. The funding round also follows the $6 Mn funding round the startup raised in 2019 from DFI. RupeeRedee said that DFI is set to invest another $10 Mn by the end of FY24 to fuel business growth.

The lending platform plans to deploy the incoming funding to scale its operations and build new product offerings. The capital infusion will also bolster RupeeRedee’s objectives to expand its credit portfolio.

Aznabaev Roman, the India country head of RupeeRedee, said, “This investment will empower us to scale our operations, expand our product offerings, and deepen our commitment to financial inclusion in emerging markets. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and look forward to creating even greater value for our customers and stakeholders.”

Launched in 2018, RupeeRedee offers small-ticket short-term personal loans to underserved sections, including salaried and self-employed first-time borrowers. RupeeRedee works with FincFriends to facilitate short-term personal loans coupled with other digital lending services.

The fintech startup claims to provide instant loans with an average time of 10 minutes, with typical loan size and duration being INR 25,000 and six months, respectively. RupeeRedee claims to have operations in 150+ cities across the country.

The funding in the digital lending platform comes as lendingtech has emerged as one of the largest fintech subsectors in terms of market size. According to Inc42’s ‘State of Indian Fintech Report, Q2 2023’, lendingtech is expected to become a market opportunity of $1.3 Tn by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 22% between 2022 and 2030.

Some of the major funding rounds in the segment this year include DMI Finance’s $400 Mn funding round, Mintifi raising $110 Mn and KreditBee securing $100 Mn. In fact, eight of the 10 largest fintech funding rounds in the first half of 2023 were in the lendingtech segment, per the Inc42 report.