Online P2P lender LenDenClub raises $1 mn in Pre-Series A round

Online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform LenDenClub has raised $1 million in a  pre-Series A funding round led by Artha Venture Fund.

Several family offices like the UAE-based Transworld Group and angel investors Shuchi Kothari, Ramakant Sharma, Narendra Karnavat and Nandi Mehta participated in the funding round, the startup said in a statement.

The funds will be deployed to expand its senior management team and develop innovative lending products, the statement added.

LenDenClub currently offers small-ticket loans across 150 cities in six states and plans to expand to 500 cities in 12 states.

The startup will also use the funds to grow operations to 400,000 loans per year compared to 50,000 loans now. 

“The current funding round gives us the ability to double our reach and continue our quest in finding creditworthy borrowers that are not being serviced by the current financial institutions. We also aim to double the number of lenders on the platform to reach Rs 500 crore disbursal in the next 18 months,” said Bhavin Patel, co-founder and chief executive officer, LenDenClub.

LendenClub, which is operated by  Innofin Solutions, was founded in 2016 by Patel and Dipesh Karki. It is a peer-to-peer lending platform that connects wealthy investors to creditworthy borrowers.

Artha Venture Fund is a micro venture capital fund that invests in early-stage companies with follow-on investments up to Series A. 

In October 2017, LenDenClub had raised $500,000 from an undisclosed Mumbai-based venture capital fund as well as existing investors Venture Catalysts and the Anirudh Damani-founded Artha India Ventures.

In April 2016, it had raised an undisclosed amount in a seed round from Venture Catalysts and Anirudh Damani.