Oikocredit leads $ 5.1 mn Series A round in fintech lender Kaleidofin

Chennai headquartered social impact technology-driven bank Kaleidofin has raised $ 5.1 million in a Series A round led by Netherlands-based financial inclusion-focused investor Oikocredit International.

Returning investors venture capital firm Flourish, along with Omidyar Network India, venture capital firm Blume Ventures, angel investor Shlomo Ben-Haim and Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund also participated in the round, according to a statement. 

The company received funds through two seed rounds in 2018. In August, it raised an undisclosed sum from Bharat Inclusion Fund, a fund set up by Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad while in April, it raised $2.8 million led by Omidyar Network India, Blume Ventures and Shlomo Ben-Haim. 

Founded in 2017 by Sucharita Mukherjee and Puneet Gupta, Kaleidofin provides goal-based financial solutions to underbanked and underserved customers. It develops individual strategies for each household using demographic profile, income sources and asset ownership. 

Kaleidofin has three flagship programmes — Udaan, for people with periodic savings habits, Lakshya which is for those who are yet to cultivate saving habits, while Umeed is for volatile income and financially fragile individuals. 

The lender claims to have over 50,000 customers across 10 states with nearly 30 network partners include microfinance institutions, corporate, and non-government organisations. State Bank of India, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, SEWA Bank, Bharti AXA General Insurance are its credit partners.

“Our deep ‘tech with touch’ model ensures our financial services are accessible through a trusted channel at an extremely low-cost. We are encouraged by the early wins we have had thus far. Funds raised in this round will help us strengthen our technology backend and respond to growth opportunities,” said Sucharita Mukherjee, CEO and cofounder of Kaleidofin . 

Unitus Capital acted as an exclusive financial advisor to transaction.  

“With Kaleidofin as our first equity investment in the Indian fintech sector, we want to promote and be part of the responsible offering of savings and insurance products to the low-income segments of the population,” said Anirudh Sarda, equity officer, Oikocredit.

Oikocredit, a worldwide cooperative, invests in organisations with a focus on financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy. It has operations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. 

It claims to have financed 670 entities over 40 years and has total outstanding capital of over 1 billion euro as of September 30, 2019.

Fintech companies in India have seen a rise in investment in the past few months. Aye Finance recently raised $17.5 million in debt instruments from Dutch development bank FMO. In August, California-based microfinance lender Tala raised $110 million led by RPS Ventures, a fund set up by former Softbank MD Kabir Misra. In September, First Principle Labs Technologies raised $4.5 million in a funding round from Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital India.