Fintech startup Lendingkart has raised Rs 200 crore in long-term debt funding from the financing platform EvolutionX Debt Capital.
Lendingkart, which is backed by Bertelsmann, Mayfield India, Saama Capital, Sistema Asia, and India Quotient, along with other investors, plans to use the funds to expand its core business while also bringing on more MSME (micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises) borrowers.
The company will also use a part of the capital to make investment technologies to support its lending platform. Additionally, it plans to introduce new financial products, including credit cards for MSMEs, personal loans for self-employed individuals, gold loans, etc., in collaboration with banks and NBFCs (non-banking financial companies).
“Over the years, we have built efficient and robust technology to support the underserved MSME sector. FY24 is going to be an exciting year for Lendingkart as we look to solve newer challenges by creating industry-first products and evolving our tech stack,” said Harshvardhan Lunia, founder and chief executive officer of Lendingkart Group.
In 2014, Lunia founded Lendingkart. It operates fintech platforms like 2gthr, Cred8, Xlr8, and Collec10, providing capital access to MSMEs. The platforms are designed to minimize lending risks while improving the lending capabilities of banks and other lenders. It has competition from other players operating in the same industry, including Aye Finance, Clix Capital, NeoGrowth, and FlexiLoans.
Lendingkart reported a profit of Rs 120 crore for the financial year that ended in March 2023, significant progress over the net loss of over Rs 203 crore in the previous financial year.
Furthermore, the company’s loan disbursals increased by 44% in FY23 to reach close to Rs 4,000 crore, additionally, from Rs 616 crore the previous fiscal year to Rs 828 crore in FY23, its revenue scaled by 34%.
Lendingkart is EvolutionX’s first fintech venture. EvolutionX offers debt financing to technology-enabled companies across Asia, focusing on India, China, and Southeast Asia.
“We see tremendous opportunities for fintech players in India’s large but underserved MSME credit space. We believe Lendingkart will continue to lead the market and fill the funding gap for the MSMEs,” said Rahul Shah, partner of EvolutionX Debt Capital.
EvolutionX has already backed a few Indian unicorns, including the business-to-business marketplace Udaan and API Holdings Ltd, the parent firm of the online pharmacy platform PharmEasy.
