5 top Indian FinTech funding announcements that transpired in Nov 2020

By Edil Corneille

India is said to be amongst the fastest growing financial technology (FinTech) markets. According to Invest India, the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of the country, the digital payments value of USD 65 billion in 2019 is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20 per cent till 2023. The overall transaction value in the country’s FinTech market is estimated to jump to USD 140 billion in 2023. India is said to have overtaken China as Asia’s top FinTech funding target market with investments of around USD 286 million across 29 deals, as compared to China’s USD 192.1 million across 29 deals in Q1 2019.

The rise of new FinTech startups, new-to-bank population and technological advancements have paved the way for the country to witness an upsurge in FinTech evolution. With individuals getting familiarised to use digital ways of conducting their banking transactions, the trend is expected to continue even post the COVID-19 era. Banks are investing in upgrading their technologies and are partnering with FinTechs startups to overcome the constraints faced by the legacy systems of these traditional institutions. November 2020 has seen a number of investments in the industry which is a positive sign considering the ongoing pandemic situation. Mentioned below is the list of FinTech companies who have raised funds this month.

Turtlemint

Mumbai-based Turtlemint has secured USD 30 million (INR 2.25 billion) in a round led by GGV Capital. New investors American Family Ventures, MassMutual Ventures and SIG, along with existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Blume Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, Dream Incubator and Trifecta Capital participated in the funding round.

Launched in 2015, Turtlemint is a deep tech platform that helps advisors educate customers and recommend products that are best suited to meet their unique requirements, thereby enabling them to purchase insurance seamlessly.

Turtlemint does this by providing a wide variety of product offerings and a customized recommendation tool through a mobile app. In addition, the platform allows for instant online issuance, making the purchase process across 40+ insurers transparent and paperless, while reducing the average turnaround time to less than 10 minutes.

The Turtlemint platform currently partners with 40+ insurers, and serves more than 1.5 million customers from quote to claims. The funds raised will be utilized to bolster the product/platform by investing in cutting-edge technology solutions, significantly scale geographic penetration in tier 2/3 towns and upskill advisors and customers through training and content.

True Balance

True Balance, a FinTech app operated by Balancehero India, the wholly owned subsidiary of Balancehero Korea, announced the raise of USD 28 million in funding from a cohort of investors including SoftBank Ventures Asia, Naver, BonAngels, Daesung Private Equity, and Shinhan Capital.

The Seoul & Gurugram headquartered FinTech, which has disbursed via its primary loan products over INR 1 billion this year to India’s underbanked, uncredited, unaccessed and financially uneducated, had previously raised USD 62 million from SoftBank Ventures Asia, Line Ventures Corporation, D3 Jubilee Partners, and a host of other global investors.

Said to have earned the trust of its users through its digital financial services, True Balance has expanded its portfolio to bring full stack financial services to low-income citizenry, making finance available for all.

In early 2020, True Balance pivoted the business to a very strong focus on small loans across India, and post-that, while several other players are said to have got out of the loans business – especially in light of the credit crisis which has prevailed since – the company has grown from strength to strength, maintaining that responsible lending is one way of pulling the Indian economy out of the precipice COVID-19 has very precariously placed it in. The Series D investment will largely fuel Balance Hero’s mission to achieve breakeven point for their business and achieve profitability by Q2 of next year.

Mobikwik

The FinTech platform raised INR 415 million as a part of its Series E round from Hindustan Media Ventures, as reported by Entrackr. Mobikwik raised INR 87 million from New Delhi Television (NDTV) and Trifecta in July 2019.  The Gurugram-based digital payments company has allotted 41,375 Series E CCPS at an issue price of INR 10,030 per share to raise the sum.

In July 2019, Mobikwik raised INR 87.4 million from NDTV and Trifecta Capital in July 2019, the Entrackr report apprised. In December 2018, Mobikwik raised INR 240 million from Sequoia Capital and it secured INR 2.25 billion from Bajaj Finserv (NBFC) in 2017.

This month, the MobiKwik Blue American Express Card was launched in India. The company mentioned that it is now the first non-bank Indian company to become a member of the American Express network and issue cards. The card’s avatar is purely digital, in keeping with the preferences of young Indians and the growing demand for digital payments at online and physical stores. MobiKwik operates its businesses in consumer payments, payment gateway, and financial services.

MobiKwik’s payments network comprises of 120 million users, 3 million merchants, and over 300 billers. The vision of the company is to build accessible and affordable digital financial services.

Slice

Bengaluru-based FinTech Slice, a payments and credit startup exclusively for youngsters, has received INR 390 million in debt funding from financial institutions like Vivriti Capital, Northern Arc Capital, InCred Financial Services, Growth Source Financial Technologies, Ashv Finance and others. Raised by Quadrillion, a non-banking financial company (NBFC) and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Slice, the company will use this fresh fund infusion to grow its book and widen the reach of its credit solutions to youngsters across India.

Slice has processed a transaction volume of INR 11 billion to more than 260,000 youngsters since its inception. With over 500,000 customers on the waitlist, the company aims to become the card of choice for young India.

Founded in 2016, the company has designed a card that is said to be an alternative to traditional credit cards. Slice is backed by VCs such as Gunosy Capital, Das Capital, Finup, Blume Ventures India, Simile Venture Partner, EMVC, Tracxn Labs, Better Capital, Sachin Bansal’s Navi alongside angel investors such as Kunal Shah. The focus of Slice is on assisting its customers through their financial journey through a complete VIP customer experience.

Instamojo

Instamojo announced the closing of its Pre-Series-C funding round of an undisclosed sum. The round saw the participation of Japanese investors Base and existing investors such as Gunosy Capital, who participated in the Series B round in January 2019. The funds raised will be used to expedite the company’s growth and product roadmap as well as venture into international markets in the coming year.

Instamojo began its journey in the FinTech space with its flagship product – the online payment link, thereby solving the digital payments challenge for several entrepreneurs. Focused on empowering the Indian MSME sector, the company recently acquired GetMeAShop (GMAS), an e-commerce enablement firm backed by Times Internet which helps small businesses establish an online presence and run a store.

With this funding, the company aims to take its presence to a global level and become a global e-commerce enabler for small businesses. Focused on empowering MSMEs, Instamojo provides services ranging from digital payments to lending.

Founded in 2012 by Sampad Swain, Akash Gehani and Aditya Sengupta, Instamojo secured their Series B funding of INR 500 million, early last year. The company recently turned cash-flow positive, with an all-time high GMV of INR 20 billion. In recent months, Instamojo introduced easy ways of going digital through their ‘Priority KYC’, ‘Sachet loans on Whatsapp’ and ‘InstaCash’ features which enabled merchants to go online and get instant access to loans. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company recorded a 30 per cent rise in their merchant-base.