Fintech firm Jodo raises $3.8 mn from SAIF, Matrix and angel investors

Bharosepe Technology Services, which owns and operates fintech startup Jodo, has raised Rs 28.5 crore (about $3.8 million at current exchange rates) in its first institutional funding round led by venture capital firms SAIF Partners and Matrix Partners. A clutch of angel investors also participated in the round.

SAIF Partners and Matrix Partners individually invested Rs 13.9 crore ($1.86 million) to hold a 13.08% stake each in the Bengaluru based company, as per regulatory filings. Additionally, Kunal Shah-owned QED Innovation Labs infused Rs 10.4 lakh (about $13,899) in the firm, while 14 other angel investors put in a total of Rs 60.6 lakh (about $80,989).

The development was first reported by Entrackr.

Founded earlier this year by former Matrix executives Raghav Nagarajan, Atulya Bhat and Koustav Dey, Jodo aims to be a full-service player with multiple products in the financial services segment.

It offers an alternative solution where parents can pay their children’s school fees in monthly instalments. Partnering with multiple banks and NBFCs, Jodo provides the collateral-free loan product with no interest cost, the company’s website claims.  

The startup also runs a reward programme, called JODOjoy, where parents can avail offers from educational brands such as Leap Learner, Smartivity, Skillmatics, Vedantu and Toppr.

Technology-enabled student financing startups and educational loan providers have been attracting significant venture capital investments.

Last month, Bengaluru based Garagepreneurs Internet, which operates student-focused payments platform Slice, raised $6 million in a funding round led by Tokyo based investor Gunosy Capital. Slice claims to have built a data driven financial product for college students and young salaried professionals called the Slice Card, which is both a physical and a virtual card.

In March, Fampay, a payments app for teenagers and their families, raised $4.7 million in a seed funding round from Y Combinator, Venture Highway, Sequoia Capital India and Global Founders Capital.  The company offers a card that can be used for all online and in-store purchases, as well as peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and UPI payments. Instead of managing individual expenses, parents can just top up the FamPay account.

Student loan financing platform Leap Finance, co-founded by former SAIF Partners executive Arnav Kumar, raised $5.5 million from Sequoia Capital India, and angel investors such as InCred founder Bhupinder Singh and CRED founder Kunal Shah. The fintech platform provides loans to Indian students pursuing higher education abroad.