Bertelsmann is leading a financing round (Series B) for the Indian Fintech company Lendingkart. Lendingkart is the eighth company in the Bertelsmann India Investments portfolio, and its third new investment this year.
Lendingkart focuses on the provision of business loans for small and medium-size enterprises in India. In the past two years, the startup has arranged loans for companies in 135 Indian cities through its platform. The business model is entirely digital: algorithms are used to evaluate the customer’s creditworthiness in a fully automated way, so that the funds can often be transferred within less than 24 hours.
Lendingkart will use the latest infusion of capital to enhance its technology platform, strengthen its data analysis capabilities, and introduce new digital financial products. The company also wants to expand regionally in other cities in India. Other investors in the current financing round totaling $32 million are the financial investors Darrin Capital Management, Mayfield India, Saama Capital and India Quotient.
Founded by ex-banker Harshvardan Lunia and former ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) scientist Mukul Sachan, the Lendingkart uses over 2200 data points to assess an applicant’s credit worthiness and helps small and medium businesses get working capital loans from its lending partners.
Source: Bertelsmann
