FlexiLoans, a lending platform for small and medium businesses, has raised INR 375 crore in its Series C funding round. The round was led by its current investors, Fundamentum, Accion Digital Transformation, Nuveen, and Maj Invest. A new investor, British International Investment (BII) from the UK, also joined the round.
The new funding includes money that will help the company grow its operations, as well as some money paid to existing investors who wanted to sell their shares, the company said on Wednesday.
“This funding will help in advancing our mission of fueling the growth of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across India, driving financial inclusion and opening new economic opportunities,” said Deepak Jain, Co-founder
This new investment comes after the company raised INR 290 crore in September. In the last six months, FlexiLoans has raised a total of INR 665 crore. Earlier, it also received funding from well-known investors like Sanjay and Falguni Nayar, MAJ Invest, Fasanara Capital, and some family offices led by former banking leaders.
The new money will be used to grow the business, improve products, and upgrade technology systems.
FlexiLoans was started in 2016 by Deepak Jain, Ritesh Jain, and Manish Lunia. It runs a digital platform that helps small and medium businesses get loans.
The company offers term loans from INR 2 lakh to INR 25 lakh and also provides supply chain financing with limits from INR 25 lakh to INR 10 crore.
Using its technology and working with more than 25 lenders, FlexiLoans provides custom loan options to help more small and medium businesses get the money they need, supporting financial inclusion across India.
So far, the company has given out more than INR 10,000 crore in loans to businesses in over 2,100 towns and cities. It currently manages assets worth over INR 2,300 crore and is growing fast, with an average growth rate of 83% expected between 2022 and 2025.
The company has given over 170,000 loans to more than 50,000 small and medium businesses, with 66% of these businesses located in Tier II, Tier III, and smaller towns.
“Our focus on Tier II and III cities presents both challenges and opportunities in the MSME lending landscape. A primary challenge is the limited access to formal credit from traditional banks for these underserved businesses, often due to a lack of collateral and formal credit histories. This is compounded by varying levels of financial literacy and difficulties in scaling operations without adequate working capital,” says Jain.
“However, the opportunity lies in a vast untapped market eager for credit, the ability to leverage widespread digital adoption for 100% online loan origination and rapid approvals (within 48 hours), and the use of proprietary machine learning and alternative data to assess creditworthiness without traditional collateral,” he adds.
The company works with big ecommerce and payment platforms like Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm, and PhonePe. This makes it easy for businesses to apply for loans directly through these platforms.
“We are delighted to support FlexiLoans in their mission to empower MSMEs across India with its innovative digital-only model. Financial inclusion is a key part of our strategy, and this investment underscores our commitment to supporting underserved businesses and entrepreneurs,” said Srini Nagarajan, Managing Director and Head of Asia, British International Investment.
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