Indian fintech KreditBee nears $700 million valuation in new funding

Indian fintech KreditBee has raised an additional $100 million in a funding round, it said, as the lender looks to scale its business in the South Asian market.

The new cash infusion is part of the larger Series D funding, which KreditBee said has now closed at $200 million. The new funding, led by Advent International, values the Bengaluru-headquartered startup at about $680 million, according to a source familiar with the matter.

KreditBee, which also counts Mirae Asset Venture Investments, Premiji Invest and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group among its backers, offers instant micro loans starting at as low as $12 to new-to-credit customers and credit of over $3,500 to salaried professionals. The company says its hope is to serve the 400 million new-to-credit customers in India.

India’s credit data book is sparse, making it difficult to build trust with banks and other financial institutions in order to extend credit to the vast majority South Asian population.

Fintechs utilize modern-age underwriting systems for customers and a maze regulatory arbitrage — that is getting increasingly — to function.

KreditBee works with 10 banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to finance the loans, it said.

” We are pleased to welcome a long-term strategic and financial partner in Advent. This strengthens our confidence in our profitable business model, and ensures its long-term sustainability. The latest round will help us to achieve our vision of serving over 400 million middle income population in the country,” said Madhusudan Ekambaram, co-founder and chief executive of KreditBee, in a statement.

The startup stated that it is on track for increasing its asset under management by over $1 billion within the next six to nine month.

Its new funding comes at a time when the dealflow activity has slowed down dramatically in India as investors grow cautious of writing new checks and evaluate their underwriting models after valuations of publicly listed firms take a tumble.

“KreditBee is a company that has seen many credit cycles. It has emerged stronger each time, reflecting its adaptability and resilience. In a statement, Ashish Dave, chief executive officer of Mirae Asset Venture Investments in India said that this investment will strengthen our commitment to support KreditBee’s vision.