LeapFrog Investments Archives

Mumbai-based non-banking financial company (NBFC) /digital lending platform NeoGrowth Credit has raised $47 Mn (INR 300 Cr) in equity funding from investors led by LeapFrog Investments. Existing investors Aspada Investment Company and Quona Capital have also participated in the fundraising, through Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, reports ET. Avendus Capital was the advisor to NeoGrowth Credit for the deal. Post the transaction, Michael Fernandes, partner, LeapFrog Investments has joined the NeoGrowth Credit board. Commenting on the funding, Michael said, "India is at an inflexion point of moving towards a less cash economy and massive digitisation of transaction level data. By providing loans to underserved merchants based on financial profiles created through real-time transaction data, NeoGrowth unlocks credit that is tailored to their business, which in turn inspires growth and job creation." Founded in 2010 by Dhruv Khaitan and Piyush Khaitan, NeoGrowth Credit is a non-banking financial company, registered with RBI, which provides short-term business loans to Indian merchants for their business needs. Earlier in July, 2016, NeoGrowth Credit had raised a total of $16 Mn (INR 108 Cr) in a venture round of funding from IIFL Wealth Management’s Seed Venture Fund. The then existing investors Omidyar Network, Khosla Impact and Aspada had also participated in the round. In recent years, lending platforms have registered over $200 Mn in investments. Other startups working in the lending segment include Faircent.com, LoanCircle, Capzest, Capital Float, FlexiLoans and Lendingkart. Among the digital lending models that are most popular in India are online marketplaces and online lenders to P2P platforms. Last month, Ahmedabad-based SME lending startup Lendingkart Finance raised $3.8 Mn (INR 25 Cr) in debt funding from the State Bank of India, while Mumbai-based digital SME lending platform FlexiLoans raised an institutional debt funding of about $7 Mn (INR 45 Cr) from a number of financial institution(s). With over 20 deals in the last two years, the lending space has matured over the time and as per an IBEF report, the market capitalisation is expected to double by 2020.

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