Lendingkart Finance raises $10 million debt from Kotak Mahindra Bank, others
1 min read 03 Aug 2017, 01:12 PM ISTLendingkart Finance will use the funding from Kotak Mahindra Bank, Aditya Birla and others for more loans to SMEs and widen its pan-India presence
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New Delhi: Lendingkart Finance Ltd, the non-banking financial company (NBFC) which is part of the Lendingkart Group, has raised $10 million or Rs67 crore in debt from Kotak Mahindra Bank, Aditya Birla Financial Services and other financial institutions.
The announcement comes shortly after the company raised Rs50 crore (as debt) from Yes Bank Ltd in June.
The corpus will be used to grow its lending programme to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and widen its pan-India presence, the company said on Thursday.
Together with its credit scoring unit Lendingkart Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Lendingkart Finance offers collateral-free loans to SMEs for their working capital and other requirements.
“For Lendingkart Finance, the influx of capital at strategic intervals is the key driver to promote financial inclusivity amongst SMEs in India... While the funds from this round will be used to replenish our loan book and widen our range across the country, we are confident that our relationship with these companies will help us collectively work towards empowering SMEs through seamless availability of working capital," said Harshvardhan Lunia, chief executive officer and co-founder, Lendingkart Technologies.
Lendingkart has borrowed at least Rs250 crore from the market till date excluding the current round. The funds have come from at least two banks and various NBFCs, including IFMR Capital Finance Pvt. Ltd, Hinduja Leyland Finance Ltd, Caspian Impact Investments Pvt. Ltd, Mannapuram Finance Ltd and Sundaram Finance Ltd.
“We are excited to work with Lendingkart Finance since we believe they have a unique and efficient proposition to finance customers—largely in a space which is not as effectively addressed by most banks," said Manish Kothari, a senior executive vice-president at Kotak Mahindra Bank.
On the equity side, Lendingkart Group, through Lendingkart Technologies, has raised upwards of $30 million from Betelsmann India Investment, Saama Capital, Mayfield India, India Quotient and Darrin Capital Management. The company was founded in 2014 by Lunia and Mukul Sachan.
Lendingkart underwrites loans online to SMEs, lending at an annualized interest rate of 16-24%. It claims to have supported 9,500 businesses across 23 sectors.
