True Credits raises USD 15 million in debt funding round

By Leandra Monteiro

True Credits, an RBI-licensed NBFC operated by Balancehero India Private Limited, the wholly owned subsidiary of Balancehero Co. Ltd. Korea, today announced that they have raised another 15 million USD in debt funding from investors across India and Korea in this fiscal, taking the total debt fund raised to 25 million USD.

The second round of investment has come from Pace and E-clear, as well as other investors in Korea, to support the company’s expansion in India. The Seoul & Gurugram-based FinTech, has disbursed loans over INR 3 billion in this calendar year to India’s financially deprived and excluded, through its licensed NBFC subsidiary – True Credits Private Limited.

True Balance has built a next generation financial platform for consumers, making it a one-stop shop for all their financial needs. Armed with an RBI license & PPI license, True Balance has aggressively expanded its portfolio to low-income citizenry making ‘finance available for all’. The company’s loan book has grown at 2000% in CY 2021 for small ticket size products – the key product focused towards new-to-credit users, Level Up Loan.

Having seen tremendous growth between 30-50% Month-on-Month at a consistent pace, True Balance aims to achieve break even within CY2021. While the pandemic caused a severe dent to the prospect of financial inclusion, the company with its proprietary alternative credit scoring system (ACS) and machine learning based underwriting models has supported NTC and low-credit score users in getting access to liquidity.

As the brand raises this round, Vishal Bhatia, Chief Financial Officer, True Balance said, “Every round of funding we raise only cements our commitment to ensuring access to finance for the underbanked, and those who lack access to credit”, adding, “We have seen exponential growth this year and are confident of achieving break even within the year. The goal with this round of funding is to expand our great work to newer markets, making finance available for all”.

Mr. Sarvam Goel , VP – Digital Initiatives of Pace Group opined, “We are excited to be an early partner in the growth journey of Balancehero through our NBFC arm- Shine Star Build-Cap Private Limited. The pandemic has given rise to a major requirement for liquidity among global citizens. We found that there is tremendous headspace to grow in the segment of the populace that True Balance caters to, and strongly believe that True Balance will reach a top-three position in the category within a timelined horizon. There is palpable excitement among us at the thought of Balancehero achieving BEP within the year, and we look forward to being partners for the long run for Balancehero”.

In early 2020, True Balance realised the chronic shortage of small loan offerings across India, and has since grown 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 entity had previously raised Series D funding of USD 28 million from SoftBank Ventures Asia, Line Ventures Corporation, D3 Jubilee Partners, and a host of other global investors towards the end of last calendar year, taking total equity funding to USD 95 million.