PoP digital lender ShopSe raises $5.5 mn, aims to scale 20x retail touchpoints

Newbazaar Technologies, parent operator of digital lending platform for ecommerce ShopSe, on Wednesday said it has raised $5.5 million (Rs 40 crore) in a round of funding led by Chiratae Ventures and BEENEXT. 

Other participants in the funding round included Pentathlon Ventures, Opus, and existing angel investor Abhishant Pant of fintech focused early-stage investment fund Yatra Angel Network. 

The Mumbai based startup will use the fresh infusion to onboard new talent, expand market reach to meet a growing demand, accelerate product development, according to a statement. 

In response to TechCircle’s request for comment on the stage of investment, the company said it has not associated the funding round with any stage. It declined to disclose details of previous investments raised.  

ShopSe ties up with banks, and merchant partners to provide consumers with equated monthly installment (EMI) options during point-of-purchase (PoP), to target over 45 million loan-eligible consumers, a company spokesperson told TechCircle.  

Its digital platform hosts a credit-approved customer base , and is used across over 10,000 retail points in India, the statement added. ShopSe said it now aims to touch over 200,000 retail points in the next 12 months. 

“We are delighted that leading banks and NBFCs of India also agree with our view and have chosen to partner with us. With these lender partnerships, our large retailer base and growing base of delighted customers, we are excited about reimagining the space for affordability at point of purchase,” co-founder and CEO Pallav Jain said.  

The company was founded in February 2020 by former PayU employees Jain, Abhishek Nimonkar, and Yagnesh Desai. As per LinkedIn profiles, CEO Jain was last founding country head, Nimonkar was last vice president, and Desai was last a regional head at PayU acquired LazyPay. 

"BEENEXT is excited to partner with ShopSe in bringing next-generation digital EMI solution (Buy-Now-Pay-Later) at retail point of sale. The founding team has deep understanding of space resulting in a best-in-class platform for lenders and retailers,” Hero Choudhary, managing partner of BEENEXT said. 

Founded in 2006, Chiratae Ventures India Advisors’ other investments in the fintech and ecommerce discovery space include PolicyBazaar and Unbxd.