FinTech start-up Progcap raises $25 Mn in Series B round

By Leandra Monteiro

FinTech start-up Progcap, which simplifies debt capital for underserved micro and small businesses, has secured $25 million as part of its Series B investment led by Tiger Global and existing investor Sequoia Capital India.

The freshly raised funds will be used to enhance its services and presence across existing geographies. The capital will also be used to scale up the team, strengthen technology differentiation and diversify into new product offerings to fortify its vision of building a full stack digital platform for last mile retailers.

Set up in 2017, New Delhi based Progcap was founded by Pallavi Shrivastava and Himanshu Chandra. The company aims to be a full stack retailer focused digital bank which enables capital flow across the supply chain to underserved retailers.

This investment marks Tiger Global backing yet another existing Sequoia-backed company in India. In 2021 so far, the New York-based fund has invested in the likes of social community enabler Kutumb ($26 million) and professional networking platform Apna ($70 million) — both Sequoia portfolio companies.

“Progcap has built a unique product to cater to the working capital needs of small Indian retailers who serve much of India’s $800 billion retail market. As supply chains in India get formalised with GST, the company will play an important role in serving the financial needs of such retailers. Since Sequoia Capital India’s Series A investment, Progcap has scaled the business with exceptional credit quality and high capital efficiency, the team is excited to strengthen the partnership with this financing,” said Ashish Agrawal, principal, Sequoia India, according to media reports.

According to media reports, Progcap’s founders in a statement said, “We are excited to have Sequoia Capital India double down on Progcap and thrilled to have Tiger Global join us in our journey. The continued faith that our customers, partners and investors have put in us is a testament to our teams’ unrelenting efforts. We are committed to continue our efforts in building India’s largest digital banking platform for last mile retailers.”