The startup offers loans starting from Rs 1,000 and is targeting individuals beyond the salaried class, including cab drivers, delivery persons and kirana store owners, and has tied up with a few nonbanking finance companies (NBFCs).
SmartCoin Co-Founder Rohit Garg said the startup has crossed 3,000 loans since it was founded last year.
“SmartCoin is our first investment in the fintech space. This area is exciting and growing at a healthy pace,“ said Bhaskar Majumdar, Managing Partner at Unicorn India Ventures. Two other in vestors also participated in the deal, but their names have not been disclosed.
“Apart from the salaried class, we want to also focus on the likes of the Ola and Uber drivers, the delivery boys and kirana store owners. Our loans range from Rs 1,000 for a minimum of two weeks to up to Rs 50,000 for about three months,“ Garg said.
Garg and his three Co-Founders Amit Chandel, Vinay Kumar Singh and Jayant Upadhyay, all of whom have an IIT background, are currently the only members of the startup. The team will use the funds for hiring, upgrading technology and for scaling operations.
Archana Priyadarshini, a former angel investor and now venture partner at the Unicorn India Ventures, will join SmartCoin’s board.
Unicorn India Ventures, which was launched in 2015, achieved the first close of its fund in January 2016 raising Rs 40 crore. “We are expecting the final close in the next one month,“ Majumdar said.
Source: ET Tech