Lendingkart raises Rs.205 cr in Series B funding

Lendingkart raises Rs.205 cr in Series B funding

Of the Rs.205 crore funding, around Rs.128 crore was raised as equity and Rs.77 crore as debt

The Dollar Business Bureau

Lendingkart Group, the online loan platform, on Tuesday said that it has raised Rs.205 crore (around $32 million) in series B funding from investors, led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII). 

“With BII onboard, we are looking forward to leverage its deep knowledge of global financial products and Internet businesses,” Harshvardhan Lunia, co-founder and CEO, Lendingkart Group, said in a statement.

Out of the overall Rs.205 crore funds raised in the series B or second tranche funding, around Rs.128 crore ($20 million) was raised as equity and Rs.77 crore ($12 million) as debt, the company said.

BII led the new tranche of funding, in which Darrin Capital Management participated and some prevailing investors including Saama Capital, Mayfield India and India Quotient, it added.

“With Financial Services leaders such as Arvato Financial Solutions as part of the group, Bertelsmann has strategic insights of the Fintech space. Bertelsmann brings a fresh perspective on digital distribution and data driven risk assessment, which will help us in becoming the leading lending platform for SMEs in India,” Lunia said. 

With the fresh round of funding, Lendingkart has raised Rs.260 crore till date. 

"The recent infusion of funds will be utilised by Lendingkart Group to strengthen its data science capabilities, to boost its technology platform and infrastructure for enhanced mobile capabilities,” the company said. 

Pankaj Makkar, Managing Director, BII said, “We are happy to be associated with Lendingkart Group to create next generation lending firm in India. We believe that lending is a huge market in India, which will witness a lot of innovations.” 

The aim of Lendingkart Group is to tap lending market of India by expanding its presence further across the country. 

In the past two years, the Group has organised loans to clients in 135 cities across 22 states, recording a monthly growth of 20 percent in loan origination. 

Lendingkart Group was founded by ex-banker Harshvardhan Lunia, in partnership with ex-ISRO scientist Mukul Sachan, in 2014, with the aim to facilitate loans to SMEs. 

 

The Dollar Business Bureau - Jun 29, 2016 12:00 IST