OpenTap, a FinTech startup based in Chennai has received a funding of more than $ 450,000 (Rs 3 crore) from a set of high net-worth individuals, according to a statement from the company.
The funds raise will be used to develop its team, strengthen its technological infrastructure, marketing and to widen the reach of its financial services network across the country, the statement added.
Opentap which is operated by Vyatta Technology Private Limited, was founded in 2015 by Senthil Natrajan, Harish Devarajan and Suresh Venkataramani. All three co-founders have an experienced background in the finance field for prior to founding the company, Natarajan worked in Barclays and JP Morgan, Devarajan is the chief executive of Deep Value, a US-based cash equities algorithmic trading desk, and Venkataramani works at the Bank of America.
The FinTech startup specializes in providing short-term loans and other financial services to non-agricultural manual labourers with monthly income not exceeding Rs 25,000. The startup now aspires to grow the company by achieving loan book size of Rs 100 crore and provide its services to over 40,000 customers until the end of the 2018 calendar year.
OpenTap currently possess an active borrower base consisting of around 1,200 individuals and a loan book size of over Rs 3.5 crore and targets achieving a loan book size of Rs 5,000 crores by 2022.
“The opportunities for alternate lending in our country are immense and are definitely set to redefine lending services in India. While most of the established financial institutions continue to focus on the higher strata of customer, there is a sizeable opportunity in the mid to lower segment of blue collar workforce who lack the security or the credit scores needed by these institutions to raise a loan in time of need,” co-founder Natarajan said in the statement.