SME Lender Moneyboxx Bags $1.3 Mn Venture Debt From BlackSoil, Others

Tech-focussed SME lender Moneyboxx Finance has raised INR 10 Cr ($1.3 Mn) in debt funding from BlackSoil Capital, Caspian Impact Investments and Ashv Finance.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)-listed non-banking finance company (NBFC) plans to use this funding to support its disbursement target of INR 75 Cr in the current fiscal year 2021. The company claims to be using technology across loan origination, risk assessment as well as recovery and plans to grow its loan book by 2x next year.

Commenting on the funding, MoneyBoxx Finance’s co-CEO and cofounder Deepak Aggarwal said, “The funds will help us to further our cause of supporting the deserving micro-enterprises and create a positive impact in this segment. Our collection efficiency of 95 percent during the moratorium and over 99 percent from September onwards,” he added.

The company offers unsecured loans to MSMEs and small businesses that are underserved by the organised sector, with a tenure of 12-36 months, with the average ticket size between INR 50K and INR 3 Lakh. With this round, the company has raised about INR 20 Cr so far and is looking to raise about INR 80 Cr from various lenders by the end of March 2021.

The New Delhi-based company started its operations in February 2019 and currently has about 22 branches spread across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It is planning to open 24 new branches in FY22, with a medium-term aim to build INR 1,000 Cr in assets under management (AUM) within the next three years.

“We are impressed with the core underwriting and collection model at Moneyboxx. Their sound processes have ensured a resilient portfolio even in the present environment. It is our pleasure to support them in building up their portfolio and expanding their presence in new geographies,” said BlackSoil Capital’s cofounder and director Ankur Bansal.

In the digital SME lending space, MoneyBoxx competes with other business lending platforms like Aye Finance, Capital Float, LendingKart and others.

Aye Finance has disbursed 2 Lakh loans amounting to INR 2700 Cr to over 196K small scale businesses in the country. Meanwhile, Lendingkart has disbursed over 100K loans, of which 90K were given to small and medium businesses.