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The company will use the funds to grow its geographic footprint, continue to enhance its technology and data analytics platform and further scale its businesses
Namaste Credit, a digital marketplace and technology platform for SME loans, has raised $3.8 million in a Series A investment round from Nexus Venture Partners.
The company will use the funds to grow its geographic footprint, continue to enhance its technology and data analytics platform and further scale its businesses.
Namaste Credit plans to significantly increase its channel partner programme across India and further expand its technology licensing partnerships with leading lenders globally.
Namaste Credit was co-founded in 2014 by Lucas Bianchi and Gaurav Anand (ex Moody’s) and Krishnan Parameswaran (ex MentorWare, GE).
The startup claims that over the last 12 months, disbursement volumes on Namaste Credit’s platform have increased over 10x with participation of over 30 institutional lenders. Using machine learning and patent pending algorithms, the company has increased its loan conversion rates to over 70 per cent.
Namaste Credit’s 1,000-plus channel partners are 3x to 5x more productive than their peers and are rapidly increasing usage across all geographies. Namaste Credit is also starting to license core technology to several leading NBFCs and Banks.
Anup Gupta, Managing Director, Nexus Venture Partners, adds, “SME credit is seriously constrained due to lack of reach and relevant data to assess credit worthiness of borrowers. Namaste Credit’s technology, combined with its channel partners and lender network, is already making a significant impact on facilitating credit to SMEs in a win-win manner for all.”
According to co-founder Gaurav Anand: “Our technology platform enables lenders to identify potential underwriting issues much faster and also prevent intentional fraud. We provide predictive analytics on banking and financial data of SMEs very efficiently, which helps lenders more accurately assess and price risk.”
SME credit, a $500-plus billion market in India, remains largely traditional and offline. Recently there has been a strong focus by the government on this sector and by private lenders to expand their SME loan books significantly. However, concerns over underwriting and asset quality of SME loans remain.
