Online loan platform Lendingkart Group today said it has raised Rs 205 crore (USD 32 million) in second round of funding led by Bertelsmann India Investments. The fresh round of funding also saw participation from Darrin Capital Management and existing investors – Mayfield India, Saama Capital and India Quotient, it added. With this, the company has raised Rs 260 crore (USD 41 million) till date.
“With Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) onboard, we look forward to leveraging its deep understanding of global financial products as well as Internet businesses,” Lendingkart Group co-founder and CEO Harshvardhan Lunia said in a statement.
Of the Rs 205 crore funding, about Rs 128 crore (USD 20 million) was raised as equity and about Rs 77 crore (USD 12 million) as debt in the second round or series B funding, the company said.
“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.
“The latest infusion of growth capital will be used by Lendingkart Group for strengthening its data science capabilities, enhancing its technology platform as well as infrastructure for improved mobile capabilities,” the company said.
Lendingkart Group aims to tap Indias lending market by expanding its footprint further across India.
In the last two years, Lendingkart Group has arranged loans to customers in 135 cities across 22 states, witnessing a 20 per cent month-on-month growth in loan origination.
Founded in 2014 by ex-banker and ISB Hyderabad alumnus Harshvardhan Lunia, along with ex-ISRO scientist Mukul Sachan, the company focuses on facilitating loan to SMEs.
“We are excited to partner with Lendingkart Group to build the next generation lending company in India and we believe lending is a large market which will see a lot of innovation,” BII MD Pankaj Makkar said.
Flipkart, Snapdeal, PayU are also partners of Lendingkart.