The funding round was led by marquee angels Ashneer Grover, Jaimin Bhatt, Siddharth Somaiya, and Gaurang Shetty
Micro venture capital that invested includes Prophetic Ventures. Dholakiya Ventures, RIIDL, and Scale VC
India, 6th July 2021: Pocketly, a microlending platform for college students, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding. The marquee angels who led the funding round in personal capacity are Ashneer Grover (Founder, BharatPe), Jaimin Bhatt (CFO, Kotak Bank), Siddharth Somaiya (Founder, Organic Riot), and Gaurang Shetty (CEO, RIIDL). Other investors were micro VCs such as Prophetic Ventures, Dholakiya Ventures, RIIDL, and Scale VC.The Bangalore-based moneylending platform was founded by Aarav Bhatia and Navdeesh Ahuja in 2019 with the vision to empower students and young adults by providing them with alternative credit and financial products. Pocketly aims to provide every college student with credit and multiple easy-to-use financial products.
Talking about the funding, Aarav Bhatia, co-founder of Pocketly, said, “We are pleased to have some of the best angels and VCs in the industry backing our vision. This funding will fuel our mission of providing credit to the deserving young market of India, which cannot access credit through existing traditional financial institutes. We are encouraged to relentlessly pursue our aim to enable the country’s youth with the benefits of easy credit. It is going to help so many students in fulfilling their dream by paying for the tuition fee or extracurricular activities."
Both the credit facility for students and microlending are unique and least-explored ideas in India. Most financial institutions demand a reasonable credit score for approving any amount of loan and that also ranges higher than what a student may need. However, it is not the same with Pocketly, rather it helps students build a strong credit profile before they step out in the real world.
Commenting on the announcement, Ashneer Grover, said, “Indian financial services market remains under-penetrated and there is huge space for products like Pocketly to cater to this large market. The microlending platform has built a unique product to serve the underserved market of young adults."
Adding further, Siddharth Somaiya, said, “Pocketly is a brilliant company as it brings young Indians into the credit system via microloans. They use their proprietary algo to keep their NPAs below 2.5%. This is extremely disruptive as it helps with the predictability of who will be creditworthy. This data could be extremely beneficial in the future when these customers will need bigger loans for two-wheelers, etc. As they amass customers, Pocketly’s data on young Indians’ credit will be a game-changer for the fintech industry in the country."
Mr. Ninad Karpe, Partner at 100X.VC, added, “It is common how young adults struggle to pay for their basic requirements due to financial constraints. Pocketly is offering a platform that is going to empower the youth by making them financially independent and responsible. Students can further leverage the added benefits offered by the microlending platform."
The microlending platform had raised a cheque from 100X.VC as part of the fund’s class 01 portfolio earlier in 2019.
About 100X.VC:
100X.VC is India’s first Fund to invest in early-stage start-ups using iSAFE - India SAFE Notes. The fund is sponsored by Mehta Ventures, the Family Office Investment arm of Sanjay Mehta, to nurture innovative ideas that add value and bring solutions to a problem. 100X.VC values its relationships with founders, co-investors, corporations, and investment bankers and effectively becomes the coach, strategy consultant, investment banker, business mentor, and trusted advisor of the start-up after investing.
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