NBFC InCred acquires personal loan platform Qbera

Mumbai based non-banking finance company InCred on Wednesday said it has bought Qbera, an online platform that facilitates unsecured personal loans, from Ant Creditex Technologies.

“Market buzz had previously pegged the deal value at $10-15 million,” the statement said. InCred has not disclosed any financial details of the deal. 

The acquisition is expected to augment InCred’s digital distribution offerings, while also providing Qbera with full-stack loan origination capabilities in risk-sharing partnerships with other financial institutions, the statement added.

“Being a part of InCred provides Qbera critical cross-functional expertise that is essential in taking the Qbera platform to new heights. Having access to superior risk and technology capabilities will play a vital role in scaling the business, especially in a post-Covid world,” Qbera co-founder and CEO Aditya Kumar said.

Kumar has joined InCred and will continue to head Qbera, as well as the InCred personal loan business, while vice president of product, Anuj Sachdev has taken up an advisory role. 

Founded in 2016 by Kumar and Anubhav Jain, Qbera offers loans ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 15 lakh to salaried consumers in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Jaipur. Qbera does not take the loan exposure on its own books. It processes loans through financial institution partners, such as IndusInd Bank, RBL Bank and Fullerton.

Bengaluru headquartered parent company Ant Creditex Technologies had raised a total of $1.26 million before its acquisition by Mumbai-based real estate management company E-City Ventures in 2018 for $3 million, according to VCCEdge data.

Ant Creditex also operates Creditexchange, a hybrid digital consumer loans platform and institutional marketplace that connects institutional investors with borrowers.

On the other hand, new-age financial services provider InCred has an online and physical presence in about 20 cities. Founded by former Deutsche Bank executive Bhupinder Singh in 2016, it offers loans in personal, education, home and small and medium enterprises (SME) categories. The company has raised about $210 million so far, according to VCCEdge data.