Chennai-based OpenTap, a fintech startup focusing on the alternate lending segment, has raised about ₹3 crore funding from HNIs (high networth individuals). The capital raised will be used by the startup to strengthen its technology infrastructure and widen the reach of its financial services network across the country. The startup had earlier raised undisclosed amount in seed funding, in May 2015.

Founded in 2015 by three former investment bankers -- Harish Devarajan, Senthil Natarajan and Suresh Venkataramani, OpenTap is a growth-tage startup working towards financial empowerment of the aspirational Indian population. The startup currently focuses on providing short-term credit for the vastly under-served blue collar workforce, whose monthly income is below ₹25,000.

“Having established a strong footing in the alternate lending space, the additional funds will be very useful to further propel our growth. We will also utilize the funds for team enhancement and marketing, to continue identifying and servicing credit-worthy customers," said Senthil Natarajan, co-founder and CEO of OpenTap.

OpenTap currently has an active borrower base of over 1,200 individuals and a loan book size of over ₹3.5 crore. The start-up aims to reach ₹100 crore and add 40,000 customers by the end of the calendar year 2018.

“While most of the established financial institutions continue to focus on the higher strata customer segment, there is a sizeable opportunity in the mid to lower segment of the blue collar workforce, who lack the security or the credit scores needed by these institutions to raise a loan in time of need,” stated Natarajan.

The startup aims to facilitate ₹100 crore in short term loans by the end of 2018.

Recent Lending-based Startup Fundings



India's online P2P lending market attained maturity in 2017, with various factors such as the Reserve Bank of India's guidelines on the sector, the proliferation of digital transactions, the development of financial technologies, and the lack of access to credit contributing to its rise.

Last Month, PaisaDukan.com a P2P Lending marketplace solely owned by Mumbai based FinTech start-up BigWin Infotech, today announced a secured seed funding of $650K through Angel funding route.

In March, US-based digital payment company Wibmo Inc has bought Gurgaon-based mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) payment solution startup Mypoolin in a cash and stock deal valued above $1 million.

In December, Faircent, touted as India's largest P2P lending company, raised Rs. 25 crore in a high-profile funding round led by Incofin Investment Management with participation from its existing investors.

In February 2017, SlicePay has acquired Trustio, a New Delhi based P2P lending company giving alumni-backed loans to students and recent graduates. Trustio was backed by Axilor Ventures and Zostel CEO Dharamveer Singh Chouhan.

The above news was first reported in Economic Times.

[Top Image - Senthil Natarajan | Credit - BankingFrontiers.com]
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