With Qbera Acquisition, InCred Looks To Strengthen Loan Distribution

Mumbai-based digital lending startup InCred has acquired Bengaluru-based fintech platform Qbera, in a deal touted to be around $10 Mn to $15 Mn.  The amount, however, hasn’t been revealed by the duo.

Talking about the acquisition, Bhupinder Singh, founder and CEO of InCred said, “The Qbera acquisition importantly marks the launch of InCred’s platform business – a first of its kind for an NBFC of our size in India. We have built best-in-class risk management, technology and analytics capabilities across different asset classes like education, MSME and Consumer loans.”

With the acquisition, InCred is aiming to expand its portfolio of consumer loans and expand its distribution reach, leveraging Qbera’s existing partnerships. The deal is also set to benefit Qbera, which will benefit from InCred’s personal loan expertise.

As a part of the acquisition, Qbera’s cofounders Aditya Kumar and Anuj Sachdev have also joined InCred’s team. Obera’s CEO Kumar will continue to head the platform, while VP-Product Sachdev will take on an advisory role. Besides this, Qbera’s team will also join InCred’s operations in various capacities.

Qbera which was founded in 2015 facilitates loans from banks and financial institutions such as Kotak Mahindra Bank, RBL Bank, IndusInd Bank and Fullerton, by acting as an intermediary between them and registered borrowers. The company has its operations in Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Jaipur, among others.

Last July, the company had launched its Series B fund-raise for $15 Mn and it is expected to close the round by the end of the year. However, there was no update in this regard. Qbera was looking to use the capital raise to streamline its growth, product expansion, technology, data sciences, hiring and expansion into Tier II, III and other regions. Keeping aside the Series B announcement, Qbera has raised $5 Mn. In September 2018, it had raised $3 Mn from Mumbai-based investor E-City Ventures.

On the other hand, InCred has raised more than $160 Mn across several funding rounds. Last year, it raised $84.89 Mn in Series A from Dutch development finance institution FMO, US-based asset manager Moore Capital, India/Latin America-focused PE fund Elevar and Alpha Capital.

The simplified lending platform founded by Bhupinder Singh in 2016offers various types of loans, including personal, home, education, SME and two-wheeler loans. The company has its presence in over 20 cities and looks to expand in Tier 3 cities. In terms of financial performance, InCred had recorded a 55X jump in consolidated revenue reaching INR 132.44 Cr in FY18 with a net profit of INR 9.38 Cr.

As per DataLabs by Inc42+ estimates, credit demand in India is projected to be worth $1.41 Tn by 2022. The estimated growth rate in credit demand is 3.73% between FY17 and FY22. However, the Covid-19 crisis is said to be an unprecedented boost to the lending space in India.

Some of the startups catering to this segment are BankBazaar, PaisaBazaar, Bon Credit, LendingKart and more.