The round was led by prominent global investors Accion, Nuveen, Fundamentum, and existing investor Maj Invest
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, September 11, 2024: FlexiLoans.com, India's leading MSME-focused digital lending NBFC, proudly announces a successful equity raise of ₹290 crores in its Series C funding round. The round was led by prominent global and domestic investors Accion, Nuveen, Fundamentum, and existing investor Maj Invest.
The firm will use the fresh capital to expand its operations, enhance its product offerings, and strengthen its technological infrastructure. This capital infusion will empower the firm to further its mission of fuelling the growth of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) across India, driving financial inclusion, and unlocking new economic opportunities.
India’s SME sector, which contributes about 30% to the country’s GDP, remains significantly underserved. Less than 10% of MSMEs have access to loans from traditional financial institutions, leaving a vast capital gap. The firm aims to bridge this gap, particularly in tier 2 and tier 3 cities where access to finance is limited. As the Indian economy continues to expand, the demand for MSME financing will only increase, presenting a substantial opportunity for FlexiLoans.
Founded in 2016, by Deepak Jain, Ritesh Jain, and Manish Lunia, has emerged as a pioneer in India’s digital lending ecosystem, focusing on underserved MSMEs in India. With its fully digital platform, it has simplified access to capital, enabling small businesses across tier 2 and 3 cities to receive loan approvals in as little as 48 hours by leveraging alternative data sources.
This digital-first approach has democratized access to financial resources for millions of micro and small entrepreneurs who lack conventional credit history and are typically excluded from traditional lending systems. FlexiLoans’ strategic partnerships with e-commerce platforms, payments tech, foodtech and other merchant ecosystems have been pivotal in amplifying its reach and enhancing its ability to underwrite risk. Through its own books and integrations with 20+ lenders via its in-house tech platform, Flexiloans has been able to design innovative and customised credit products and underwrite loans for a larger and diverse range of MSMEs and MSME customers while at the same time maximising capital supply.
Till date, FlexiLoans has disbursed over ₹7,000 crore in loans across more than 2,100 towns & cities and boasts of over INR 2,000 crore in AUM.
Speaking on the Series C funding round, Deepak Jain, Co-founder, FlexiLoans, said: “We are pleased to have secured ₹290 crores in our Series C round from such global blue-chip private equity funds who resonate with our vision to empower MSMEs across India. With this capital, we will further our mission of driving financial inclusion, expanding our reach, enabling more underserved MSME businesses to access the funds they need to grow and succeed”.
Nethra Bhat, Partner, Asia, Accion Digital Transformation, said: “FlexiLoans is connecting MSMEs across India to working capital so they can better serve their customers. They understand the Indian digital MSME space and their customer’s needs, and have a strong tech platform. We’re excited to lead this round of equity investment to support their growth.”
Radhika Shroff, Managing Director, Impact Investing Private Equity at Nuveen, said:
“India is home to over 60 million small businesses in need of working capital. FlexiLoans provides a commercial and proven solution by offering small businesses a differentiated digital delivery and underwriting model to scale financial inclusion to underserved tier 2 and tier 3 cities. We are excited to back FlexiLoans which is poised for continued exponential growth.”
Mayank Kachhwaha, Principal, Fundamentum, said: “FlexiLoans has an extremely strong record of execution, a high-quality team, and a razor-sharp focus on profitable growth across their verticals. They’ve built a great foundation, and we’re excited to partner with them in their next phase of growth.”
David Paradiso, Partner, Maj Invest, said: “We are glad to participate in the Series C fundraise for FlexiLoans and are excited to welcome the new investors. We look forward to building a leading franchise in the financial services segment.”
At the heart of FlexiLoans’ success is its cutting-edge proprietary credit underwriting engine, powered by advanced machine learning algorithms. It is at the core of the company’s ability to assess borrowers' creditworthiness without the need for traditional collateral. This has been a game-changer for over 50,000+ MSMEs enabling them with fast, hassle-free access to capital and empowering them to scale operations, fuel business expansion, create jobs and contribute to India’s growing economy.
Unitus Capital acted as the exclusive advisor to the transaction.
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