MilikiRumah Breaks Barriers With World’s First AI-Powered Credit Intelligence SaaS in PropTech

• MilikiRumah’s AI-powered SaaS stack is currently made up of two components for its B2B2C end-users:
• VERO: Instant credit history verification
• TASYA: AI-powered smart customer profiling tool
• MilikiRumah has recorded exceptional usage traction – delivering financial and operational milestones across Indonesia.

MilikiRumah (“MilikiRumah”, “the Company”), operator of the world’s maiden artificial intelligence (“AI”)-powered software as a service (“SaaS”) credit intelligence and mortgage readiness tool and the first rent-to-own program, today announced the Company has delivered a raft of landmark performance milestones for its revolutionary SaaS solution specifically tailored for business-to-business-to-consumer (“B2B2C”) end-users.

In setting groundbreaking benchmarks in the PropTech space, Winston Lee (“Winston”), co-founder and chief executive officer of MilikiRumah states: “MilikiRumah cements its position as the world’s leading social inclusivity for good PropTech company; backed by our revolutionary technology capability – the likes of which have never been seen before.”

Adds Winston: “With real estate developers (“real estate developers”, “developers”) and their cohort of would-be homebuyers, as our valued B2B2C end-users, recording exponential growth in token usage of our proprietary SaaS solution, MilikiRumah is already demonstrating rapid scalability and clear categorical leadership in the PropTech sector; underpinned by the Company’s proven set of financial and operational results.”

FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL MILESTONES

• Real estate developer onboarding: 151 projects across 73 developers
• Sales orders: 48% average month-on-month growth; peak 159% in a single month
• Usage: 117% average monthly growth; peak 362% in a single month
• B2B2C end-user retention: 98% since October 2025
• Big data: 37,509 home-seeker data points collected, doubling from Feb 2026

SOLVING A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR INEFFICIENCY

Indonesia's property sector faces a structural conversion problem: 50 to 70 per cent of leads fail bank eligibility checks, while manual credit history checking processes take up to 14 days!

Consequently, this legacy system results in significant wasted advertising expenditure, inefficient sales cycles, and foregone real estate developer revenue measured in the billions of rupiah each month. MilikiRumah's integrated B2B2C SaaS solution directly addresses this inefficiency by converting uncertain leads into verified, ready-to-buy homeowners – faster, more accurately, and at scale. MilikiRumah's B2B2C SaaS tool is currently available in Indonesia; with a planned expansion pipeline across the broader East Asia region.

“By combining AI-driven credit intelligence with real-time data integration, we are enabling faster, more accurate decisions, unlocking new opportunities for businesses and aspiring homeowners alike – and establishing a strong commercial baseline from a standing start,” according to Prasma Anindita (“Pras”), MilikiRumah’s director of technology.

"Simultaneously, we have rapidly scaled our proprietary data advantage, doubling our dataset of verified home seeker profiles sourced directly from banks and developers. This continuously strengthens MilikiRumah's AI engine and big data repository, reinforcing our barriers to entry and reflecting a rare product competency and mission-critical adoption among our end-users. Developer satisfaction and deep product adoption remain at their highest levels – and we are only just getting started," comments Pras.

UNLOCKING A MASSIVE UNDERSERVED MARKET

• DBS Bank: 96–97.7 million adults unbanked (~48% of adult population)
• Yusof Ishak Institute: 80% of Indonesia’s 275 million population unbanked/underbanked
• Housing backlog: 15 million units as of April 2025

Beyond B2B2C SaaS monetization, MilikiRumah is uniquely positioned to capture value from Indonesia’s large underbanked population and housing backlog; and the metrics are staggering:

According to Singapore multinational banking and financial services corporation DBS Bank Limited: “Indonesia has one of the world's largest unbanked populations, estimated at roughly 96–97.7 million adults, representing about 48 per cent of the adult population. While financial inclusion is rising, many in rural areas remain underserved, fuelling a rapid shift toward fintech and digital banking to reach these individuals,” – source: https://www.dbs.com/newsroom/Indonesia_Has_the_Fourth_Largest_Unbanked_Population_in_the_World_Heres_How_Bank_DBS_Indonesia_Promotes_Financial_Inclusion

In a far more seismic data point reported by Yusof Ishak Institute, and formerly Institute of Southeast Asian Studies which was established as an autonomous organisation by an Act of Parliament in 1968: “About 80 per cent of Indonesia’s 275 million population are unbanked and underbanked.” – source: https://www.iseas.edu.sg/iseas-perspective/2023-78-the-digital-transformation-of-indonesias-banking-sector-current-trends-and-future-prospects-by-manggi-habir-and-siwage-dharma-negara/ via a presentation by Tigor Siahaan, President Director of Superbank.

See: https://www.iseas.edu.sg/mecevents/digital-trends-altering-indonesias-banking-landscape/

Indonesia’s housing backlog has risen and as reported by Indonesia’s foremost leading English language national daily: “Indonesia's housing backlog has risen to approximately 15 million units as of April 2025, driven by population growth and low ownership rates, particularly affecting low-income workers.” – source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2025/04/23/indonesias-housing-backlog-rises-to-15-million-this-year-deputy-minister.html

A SCALABLE SAAS INFRASTRUCTURE

• AI-generated credit intelligence
• Real-time data integration
• Conversion optimisation
• Continuous feedback loops

MilikiRumah's highly scalable SaaS model is architected around four core capabilities: proprietary AI-generated credit intelligence and mortgage readiness infrastructure, real-time data integration sourced directly from real estate developers and banks, conversion optimisation, and continuous feedback loops that progressively strengthen the platform's predictive accuracy over time.

This infrastructure enables real estate developers and banks to identify mortgage-ready buyers at the point of enquiry – eliminating wasted sales effort on unqualified leads, reducing mortgage rejection rates and unit hold-ups through early eligibility assessment, and accelerating the booking-to-closing cycle with data-driven property and payment scheme recommendations. Developer partners have reported booking uplifts of approximately 50 per cent as a direct result of platform adoption attributed to the exponential spike in homebuyer confidence after being assessed by MilikiRumah’s B2B2C SaaS tool.

360° HOMEBUYER PROFILE

At the core of MilikiRumah's platform is a unified customer intelligence layer that combines transaction data, credit history, behavioural signals, and predictive modelling into a single, actionable 360° homebuyer profile. This integration enables developers to assess each prospective buyer's needs, risk profile, and instalment capacity with a depth and accuracy previously unavailable in all of Indonesia and across the globe.

Powered by AI and machine learning, the platform generates precise estimates of eligibility for mortgage loans of consumers of real estate developers, instalment obligations, repayment capacity, and income range – translating raw data into smart, reliable recommendations for the most suitable residential units, payment schemes and homeownership pathways for each individual buyer. The result is faster sales closing for the developer, higher contract success rates, and materially improved customer experience throughout the sales process.

MILIKIRUMAH’S AI-POWERED B2B2C SAAS STACK

• VERO – INSTANT CREDIT HISTORY VERIFICATION:
• VERO is MilikiRumah's proprietary credit history checking and verification engine, delivering a complete Bank Indonesia ("BI") eligibility assessment in as little as five seconds!
• For developers, the commercial impact is direct and measurable: VERO enables the identification and selection of mortgage-ready buyers from the very first point of contact, materially reducing mortgage rejection rates, minimising stalled unit inventory, and accelerating both the sales process and booking decisions. 
• By filtering out ineligible prospects early, sales teams are freed to focus their time and resources exclusively on qualified buyers – reducing customer acquisition costs and improving overall conversion rates.
• VERO's core capabilities include real-time BI and bank data integration, precise credit risk identification, and faster, more certain closing outcomes – compressing what was previously a multi-day administrative process in a matter of seconds.
• TASYA: AI-powered SMART CUSTOMER PROFILING 
• TASYA is MilikiRumah's proprietary AI sales advisor and predictive profiling engine. 
• MilikiRumah's platform delivers quantifiable improvements across the credit assessment and sales conversion lifecycle. DBR analysis – previously requiring 14 days via traditional channels – is now performed instantly, reducing processing time of more than 90 per cent. 
• Through the instant calculation of a prospective buyer's DBR via direct application programming interface integrating, TASYA delivers comprehensive consumer profiles in real time – drawing on consumer personal statements, income prediction modelling, and data integration across multiple sources to determine instalment capacity with precision.
• For Indonesia’s residential real estate developers and MilikiRumah’s B2B2C end-users, TASYA translates this intelligence into direct commercial outcomes. 
• By recommending payment schemes calibrated to each buyer's instalment ability, TASYA increases the probability of contract approval; and focuses the sales journey on ready- and financially-capable customers, and supports more confident, data-driven decisions at every stage of the sales process.
• Beyond its individual capabilities, TASYA functions as a predictive segmentation tool: matching would-be homebuyers to optimally suitable residential units and financing options offered by Indonesia's retail banks, based on AI-driven analysis of income, instalment capacity, and consumer behaviour.
• "By harnessing the power of VERO and TASYA, B2B2C end-users translate that capability into lower customer acquisition costs, higher inventory turnover, and improved revenue realisation," says Prasma. "With strong early traction, high retention, and accelerating usage, MilikiRumah is building a defensible, data-rich infrastructure – swiftly becoming the go-to trusted tool for property transaction qualification in emerging markets."

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER TESTIMONIALS

• The presence of MilikiRumah has significantly improved our business processes. MilikiRumah is invaluable for business owners who prioritise speed,” – Angga Budi Kusuma, President Director, Pesona Kahuripan Group.
• “We can directly check all prospects using MilikiRumah. The business process is more streamlined and accelerated, increasing bookings by around 50 per cent,” – Anton Suwandi, President Director, Citanusa Group.
• “Harmony Land Group manages several projects simultaneously. Bogor Green Resort, which has used MilikiRumah, appears more responsive and ultimately closes faster,” – Fithor Muhammad, chief executive officer, Harmony Land Group.
• “Prospective buyers who visit can immediately request a deposit, increasing conversion rates twofold,” – Michael J. Pratama, sales section head, Akasa Pure Living BSD. 

MILIKIRUMAH’S OTHER WORLD-FIRST: RENT-TO-OWN PROGRAM

For consumers who do not currently qualify for a conventional bank mortgage, MilikiRumah’s world-first AI-powered Rent-to-Own programme provides a structured, personalised 12-month pathway to build payment track records, financial literacy, and credit profiles – graduating participants to become bankable, mortgage-ready homeowners. 

• LinkedIn (CEO Winston Lee): https://www.linkedin.com/in/winston-lee-a2107126/
• LinkedIn (Finance Director Lau Xin Yuan): https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauxinyuan/
• Corporate Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574959116140
• Corporate Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milikirumah_com/
• Corporate LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/milikirumah-rightkey-capital-pte-ltd/
• Corporate TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@milikirumah_com
• Website: https://www.milikirumah.com/en

LEADERSHIP

• Winston Lee, Co-founder & CEO – Award-winning entrepreneur, former PropertyGuru executive, pioneered AI-powered rent-to-own and credit intelligence SaaS.
• Lau Xin Yuan, Co-founder & Finance Director – Oversees finance, investor acquisition, fundraising; founder of Digiboost Marketing.
• Faizal Abdullah, Chief Commercial Officer – 26+ years leadership, ex-Rumah123 SVP, ex-KOCO Indonesia CEO.
• Prasma Anindita, Technology Director – MSc Computer Science, Utrecht University; seasoned developer, serial entrepreneur.

Lighthouse Canton Unveils ₹1,200 Cr LC Luminere Credit Fund to Power India’s Next Private Credit Growth Wave

• Third private credit fund in India which shall focus on making structured credit investments in mid to large corporates. 
• Positions for India’s next phase of private credit growth with a disciplined, risk-first strategy. 
• Seeks to capitalize on structural demand for private credit amid evolving lending landscape in India
• Fund has warehoused its first investment with a robust near-term pipeline across industrials, conglomerates, and consumer companies
• Aims to deliver high teen returns through senior secured lending to high-quality companies

Lighthouse Canton, a global investment institution with over USD 5 billion in assets under management, including several pan Asia credit and hybrid funds, today announced the launch of a SEBI registered LC Luminere Credit Fund, a Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) focused on capitalizing India’s fast-growing private credit market. The fund is targeting a corpus of INR 1,200 crore (USD 130 million), including a greenshoe option, with a tenure of six years (average deal tenure of around three years). The fund shall make structured credit investments in mid-to-large companies and aims to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns, with stable periodic cash yield.

India’s private credit market has witnessed significant growth, driven by a structural credit supply gap, regulatory constraints on traditional lenders, and increasing demand for non-dilutive capital among mid-sized enterprises and their promoters. The fund is designed to address this through senior secured structured credit strategies that combine predictable income with equity-like returns. LC Luminere Credit Fund strategy is centered on senior secured lending to real-economy companies, supported by robust collateral. The fund will deploy capital across growth, acquisition, sponsor-backed, refinancing, and cross-border opportunities, among others.

The fund brings significant experience in emerging market credit investing, alongside institutional governance and global perspectives that strengthen Lighthouse Canton’s alternatives platform. LC Luminere Credit Fund will invest in high-quality companies with strong governance, leadership, and proven operating histories.

Sanket Sinha, Managing Director & CEO, Global Asset Management

Commenting on the fund launch, Sanket Sinha, Managing Director & CEO, Global Asset Management, Lighthouse Canton, said, “India is entering a pivotal phase of private credit expansion, supported by strong macro fundamentals and a widening gap between credit demand and supply. LC Luminere Credit Fund is designed to deliver consistent, risk-adjusted returns by focusing on fundamentally strong businesses and disciplined credit underwriting. We believe this is the right fund at the right time, built for India's credit cycle and backed by the institutional depth to deliver.”

Pranob Gupta, Managing Director, Business Head - India Alternatives (Credit & Hybrid Strategies), Lighthouse Canton

Speaking on the fund deployment strategy, Pranob Gupta, Managing Director and Business Head – India Alternatives, Lighthouse Canton, said, "Our strategy is rooted in capital preservation, strong structuring, and deep sponsor diligence. We aim to provide investors access to institutional-grade private credit opportunities while offering borrowers flexible, non-dilutive capital solutions. With a highly selective investment approach, we aim to deploy capital in a limited number of high-conviction opportunities."

The fund is led by a dedicated investment team with strong track record of successfully deploying over USD 2 billion in special situations and structured debt investing across top tier financial institutions.

Lighthouse Canton's private credit strategies are backed by an extensive origination network, with access to over 500 issuer relationships and 1,000+ promoter families, enabling a strong pipeline of proprietary deal flow. With the investment institution's pan-Asia alternatives platform and capabilities, the fund has already warehoused its first investments and has a robust pipeline across sectors like industrials, conglomerates, and consumer companies.

About Lighthouse Canton

Lighthouse Canton is a global investment institution with wealth and asset management capabilities. We employ over 220 experienced professionals across our offices in Singapore, Dubai, India, and London, and currently oversee over US$ 5 bn worth of assets under management (as of 31st October 2025). Lighthouse Canton creates value through innovative investment solutions for accredited private clients, institutional investors, and an ecosystem of founders and entrepreneurs globally.

Lighthouse Canton’s Asset Management business comprises strong internal product capabilities in hedge funds, private equity, traditional fundamental analysis, investing through multiple strategies in real estate private equity, private credit, venture capital, growth debt, public equities, and global macros.

Its Wealth Management business caters to accredited investors including corporates, ultra-high net worth individuals, families and family offices, founders, and entrepreneurs, to help with their personal and business investments, estates, and philanthropic needs, providing them with tailored investment advisory, portfolio management, treasury, business, and family office solutions.

Its advisory and capital solutions business serves families and family-owned enterprises and early to late-stage corporates with strategic and M&A advisory, restructuring and refinancing, and strategic capital solutions. The business provides tailored financing solutions across the capital structure with varying degrees of complexity along with bespoke lending solutions designed to address sophisticated capital needs.

Lighthouse Canton Pte Ltd is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”). Lighthouse Canton Capital (DIFC) Pte Ltd is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”). LC Capital India Pte Ltd is regulated by Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”). Lighthouse Canton UK Limited is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”).

For more information visit www.lighthouse-canton.com

Kiwi Raises $6 Mn in Pre-seed Funding, Disrupts Indian Credit Card Industry With Innovative 'Credit on UPI' Offering

Kiwi co-founders (L-R) Siddharth Mehta, Mohit Bedi and Anup Agrawal

Kiwi has raised $6 million in pre-seed funding led by Nexus Venture Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners

Certified by NPCI, Kiwi will partner with leading banks for issuing instant digital Rupay credit cards

Kiwi, a revolutionary credit card platform, has announced the launch of its all-in-one "Credit on UPI," solution for customers. Certified by the NPCI, Kiwi is the first app in India that will help customers experience “Credit on UPI” by issuing Rupay Cards in partnership with banks. With this launch, Kiwi aims to create one of the largest direct-to-consumer (D2C) models in the credit market through its cutting-edge mobile application, which offers users the ability to make payments using either a credit card or bank account directly through their phones in a secure manner.

The company has raised $6 million in pre-seed funding from marquee investors - Nexus Venture Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners, and a host of angel investors. Kiwi has been co-founded by senior fintech experts and banking industry veterans, Siddharth Mehta (ex-CEO, Freecharge), Mohit Bedi (ex-Axis Bank & PayU), and Anup Agrawal (ex-business head, LazyPay).

Speaking about the launch, Siddharth Mehta, co-founder, Kiwi, said, “UPI has become the most inclusive mode of payment in India, with over 30 crore unique users and 5 crore merchants onboarded on the platform. With the launch of Kiwi app, for the first time in India, users can now leverage the power of a (RuPay) credit card with the convenience and ease of UPI. Our vision is to enable access to credit on UPI for 1 million users over the next 18 months.”

RBI recently approved the linking of RuPay Credit Cards to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which will provide a seamless, digitally enabled credit card lifecycle experience for the users. Kiwi users will be issued a RuPay credit card, digitally and instantly. Post receiving the card, users will be able to link the card to UPI on the Kiwi app and will be able to use the “Credit on UPI” transactions facility at offline as well as online stores. The Kiwi app will also help users manage their cards with a host of facilities like blocking cards, increasing limits, and making card payments while rewarding them for every transaction. Starting today, users will be able to join the waitlist by signing up on the website. The Kiwi app (available on Android and iOS) is expected to go live by mid-May.

Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI said, “In our step towards attaining the goal of ‘Digital Payments for All’, Kiwi will be a game-changer in the Indian credit card industry. With the monthly expenditure on UPI P2M transactions amounting to approximately Rs. 3.2 lakh crore, which is almost 2.5x larger than the monthly credit card spends, Kiwi is set to capitalize on a significant untapped market. Moreover, the number of unique UPI users are more than 100 times the number of existing card users in India, and the acceptance points for 'Credit on UPI' are anticipated to be five times larger than regular credit card acceptance points. Looking at the whitespace that Kiwi is addressing, we’re confident that their model will support plenty of Indian credit card users on a daily basis.”

Anup Gupta, Managing Director, Nexus Venture Partners said, “Kiwi will offer consumers the best of credit cards and UPI i.e. convenience, rewards and flexible repayment experience of credit cards along with unmatched acceptance rail of UPI which is ubiquitous across India. We are excited to partner with Team Kiwi in their mission to accelerate credit card adoption in India.”

Ritesh Banglani, Stellaris Venture Partners said, “UPI is the world's second-largest payment network, and is truly world class both in scale and robustness. By enabling credit card usage over UPI, Kiwi will further deepen the consumer value provided by the network. We are thrilled to partner with Kiwi in their quest to revolutionise the Indian credit card market.”

About Kiwi:

GoKiwi, a recently launched fintech startup, is revolutionizing the credit card landscape in India by harnessing the power of "Credit on UPI", a recently introduced feature by NPCI. As a certified entity, GoKiwi is the first app in India to offer customers the opportunity to experience "Credit on UPI" through its partnership with banks to issue RuPay Cards. The company aims to disrupt the credit card industry by becoming the leading issuer of RuPay Credit Cards by 2026.

GoKiwi's unique selling proposition is its complete end-to-end lifecycle management of the credit product inside the app. GoKiwi plans to on-board 1 million customers in the first 18 months. Kiwi has raised $6 million in a pre-seed round from Nexus Venture Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners, and a host of angel investors. The company is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices across Delhi and Bengaluru. The company has a total staff strength of 20.

CASHe Partners Haptik to Launch Automated Instant Credit Disbursals on WhatsApp

Jio Haptik Technologies Limited (Haptik), the world’s largest WhatsApp chatbot solution provider, today announced it has partnered with CASHe, India’s leading financial wellness platform to enable an industry-first automated instant credit line disbursals on WhatsApp.

The overriding technology powering this solution is Haptik’s advanced Conversational Commerce capabilities and CASHe’s AI-powered bot that matches the user’s inputs and automatically facilitates a formal application, along with a Know-Your-Customer (KYC) check. Once verified, it sets up a credit line in a few clicks through a guided conversational flow. The user’s details are generated and displayed based on the name entered – the only key input that the borrower needs to enter at the start of the conversation. 

The WhatsApp chatbot is a one-stop, end-to-end solution for young professionals who can access instance credit. Users can connect with CASHe on WhatsApp at +918097553191.

Here’s a demo of how the CASHe WhatsApp Bot offers a seamless borrowing experience by understanding loan eligibility, loan application approval, document verification, and loan disbursal.

Swapan Rajdev, Co-founder and CTO, Haptik, said: “Brands today need to be on WhatsApp. Haptik is pleased to be partnering with CASHe, India’s leading financial wellness platform, with the aim of helping borrowers get access to loans and credit seamlessly and in under a minute. The CASHe WhatsApp bot, powered by Haptik, offers users a smooth onboarding and borrowing experience that includes instant verification, document upload, automated underwriting, and more importantly, quick loan disbursal. Since going live with our WhatsApp bot, CASHe has witnessed 50,000+ credit line issuances, more than INR 25 Cr in loan disbursals, and more.”

Yashoraj Tyagi, CTO & CBO, CASHe, said, “We are happy to partner with Haptik to offer a unique digital experience for our customers by integrating our services into WhatsApp, a popular platform that is already familiar and frequented by millions of its users. CASHe and the team at Haptik developed a WhatsApp native comprehensive loan processing and disbursal module that allows users to interact within WhatsApp without having to leave the platform. With this solution on offer, we have successfully pivoted our credit model to adapt to the shifts in the lending space by offering instant sachet loans to existing and prospective borrowers through an engaging and conversational flow. The digital assistant on WhatsApp helps us to reach out to new customers and support the existing ones. We are very excited about the prospects that lie ahead of us.”

Within months of launch, Haptik’s WhatsApp chatbot solution for CASHe has witnessed exponential growth in daily conversations and is set to scale higher.

About Haptik

Haptik helps brands acquire, convert, engage and delight users with AI-driven, personalized, conversational experiences across 20 channels and 100+ languages. With the vision of creating the most compelling conversational commerce platform of the 21st century, Haptik’s Conversational Commerce platform enables brands to design delightful experiences that improve conversion rates across every stage of their customer’s journey. Haptik’s leading clients and partners include KFC, Whirlpool, Starhub, HP, Reliance Jio, CEAT, Disney Hotstar, OLA, and Zurich Insurance among others. The company has been featured as a Category Leader across many platforms including Gartner, G2, Opus Research & more.

About CASHe

Headquartered in Mumbai, CASHe is one of India’s leading AI-based, credit-led financial wellness platform focused on making financial inclusion possible by serving the underserved digital customers in India. The company is driven by its laser focus to unlock opportunities for the millennial and Gen Z population by making financial inclusion and accessibility possible using its cutting-edge algorithms and AI and ML-based credit decisioning model called the Social Loan Quotient (SLQ). Since its launch in 2016, CASHe has registered over 24 million app downloads on the app store and has disbursed loans worth Rs 5,400 crores to over 5 lakh customers. Its affordable interest rates, instant processing, and flexible repayment options make it India’s most preferred digital credit platform. Over the past year, CASHe has constantly introduced new product offerings and services in line with increasing consumer demands and has successfully transformed itself into a full-fledged financial services platform that offers its customers credit, investment, insurance, and EMI shopping.

Gig Workers' Financial Platform KarmaLife Raises $2.2 Mn in Pre-Series A Funding, Led by Artha Venture Fund

Uses alternative data to facilitate credit to ‘new to credit’ gig workers

Eyes 10-fold growth in the next 12 months – boost product development, enhance the market footprint and team expansion

KarmaLife, India’s 1st real-time credit solutions provider for gig workers, raised $2.2 million in pre-series A round, led by Artha Venture Fund (AVF). Netgraph Investment, LV Angel Fund, Singularity Ventures, and Angel investors including Abhinav Sinha (CDC Group PLC), Amit Jain (CEO -Global Equity London), Balesh Sharma (MD -Vodacom South Africa, Ex-CEO Vodafone Idea), Vamsi Udayagiri (Founder Hesa), Vikram Kailas (MD & CEO Mytrah Energy) and Prateek Agarwal (ex-CBO BharatPe), also participated in the round. The Fintech platform will utilize the funds for further product development, team expansion, and employer partnerships. This is AVF’s 16th investment from its $33 million micro-VC fund.

Founded by Rohit Rathi, Naveen Budda and Badal Malick, KarmaLife has access to 130k+ users and is eyeing a 10-fold user growth in the next 12 months. Moreover, the company has been witnessing a 40% MoM growth in credit disbursement since July 2021 and will surpass ₹500 crores in disbursals by the next fiscal. KarmaLife plans to scale its business by partnering with 150+ new employers and will be launching various innovative financial products such as liquid savings and micro-insurance customized for this segment.

Taking cue from an unmet demand of relevant credit product at an affordable price for the 15 million data-rich but skill-poor workforce, the B2B2C startup solves their liquidity problem and offers financial products linked to their earnings & transaction history as well as mobile usage behavior. Personalized, subscription-based credit products, such as Earned Wage Access and dynamic Line-of-Credit, are offered based on proprietary real-time credit scoring system called ‘KarmaScore.’ KarmaLife caters to the Gig & Contract workers associated with some of the biggest brands such as Flipkart, Delhivery, Zomato and Uber, among others.

 

Rohit_Rathi co-founder of KarmaLife

Rohit Rathi, Co-founder, KarmaLife, said, “We were surprised at the sheer lack of appropriate and sustainable credit solutions for low-income working populations. We are on a mission to solve this using technology, and have built a KarmaScore framework using alternative data, and a very scalable deployment model for employers and gig-platforms. We are creating a winning eco-system that brings together Financial Institutions, Employers, and Gig workers, to drive a new and transformative business model. We are already seeing ~85% repeat rates with our product along with significant levels of retention boost in an otherwise very high churn segment. This recent round of funding will help us to accelerate our vision of Financial Inclusion for Blue Collars in India.”

Anirudh A Damani, Managing Partner, Artha Venture Fund, said, “In a time where the gig economy is expected to contribute significantly to India’s GDP, KarmaLife is set to empower the segment’s workforce. KarmaLife’s credit solutions will introduce a sense of financial stability in an otherwise fragmented industry, which is bound to boost productivity. Moreover, the real-time credit access experience for the end-user also helps them overcome the enormous challenge of financial literacy.

We are super impressed by the team at KarmaLife and love they have been capturing the top 3 companies in the most labour-intensive sectors! Rohit has a solid track record as a serial entrepreneur, and we are confident that KarmaLife will cement its position as a category leader.”

How KarmaLife Works

KarmaLife serves Gig workers with subscription-based finance built on Digital Karma. It offers them digitally integrated real-time credit to better manage their day-to-day cash flows and become more financially resilient. They partner with employers/platforms to provide Earned Wage Access and dynamic Line of Credit solutions to their workers based on their work history and other digital data.

By partnering with KarmaLife, employers can provide inclusive, impactful, and easy-to-administer worker benefits that boost productivity and retention without any financial liability. Existing partners have seen up to 30% improvements in worker productivity and reduced churn after using the solution. Today KarmaLife works with major digital gig platforms across segments like ride-sharing, food-tech, e-commerce, logistics, flexi-staffing and others.

About Artha Venture Fund

Artha Venture Fund (AVF) is India's first early-stage micro-VC firm with a corpus of $33 million. Since its inception in late 2018, AVF has primarily funded and supported multiple startups that operate as enablers and entities focused on solving the challenges of Indian consumers and businesses. The current fund allocates thematic investment for B2B, B2C/D2C, and D2C enablers.

Led by Anirudh A Damani, a second-generation investor, the firm has a network of limited partners, co-investors, founders, and family offices that traverse the globe. AVF's portfolio includes Agnikul, LenDenClub, HobSpace, PiggyRide, Daalchini, Kabbadi Adda, and more.

Artha Group, the umbrella entity of AVF, has investments in 90+ startups across India, the US, Israel, and Africa like OYO Rooms, Purplle, IconBuild, Tala, LeveragEdu, Coutloot, Karza Technologies, Mobilewalla, Interstellar and more.

For more information, please visit www.artha.vc

Here Are A Few Important Things You Need To Know About Bad Credit Loans

It is widely recognized that obtaining a loan can sometimes be a challenge, particularly if the applicant has a low credit score. In addition, individuals with low credit scores typically have a very difficult time finding a bank or financial firm that is ready to loan them the sum they need and when the lender approves the loan, they charge a high interest rate which may lead to more problems. 

There are several types of loans that an individual can obtain, like a payday loans bad credit, short term loans, secured loans and many more.

Bad Credit Loans: What Are They?

But if you have a bad credit score, then you should know that there is something called a bad credit loan.

These loans are designed for individuals who have a poor or no credit history/score. But there is a catch to these kinds of loans, they come with a lot more restrictions and a greater rate of interest. All these rules and regulations are made to minimize the risk lenders take when they give out a loan to borrowers with a bad or no credit history.

There are several reasons as to why an individual may have a bad credit history, like

• Delaying payments
• CCJ (County Court Judgements) 
• Higher number of hard credit checks
• Not owning a bank account
• If the borrower has not closed unused bank accounts, then it may bring down their credit scores.
• Declaring bankruptcy
• Not taking the time out to build a good credit score

How To Apply For a Bad Credit Loan?

It is obvious that lenders and financial institutions charge a very high rate of interest to borrowers with bad credit history because they bring a high risk factor to the lender. Furthermore, bad credit loans are meant for individuals who do have a poor credit score or no credit history at all.

When the borrower chooses to apply for this loan then he automatically agrees to the terms and conditions that come along with it, like making payments on time. If they fail to comply with rules they agreed upon, then they will face heavy penalties. There are several financial institutions and lenders who offer these bad credit loans but again obtaining one is not going to be a walk in the park.

Most of the financial firms let borrowers obtain a loan upto £2000, although there are several other financial institutions who offer a loan upto £5000. The time frame to repay these loans can be anywhere from 3 months to 36 months. Therefore choosing the loan type and the repayment period is of extreme importance.

Remember, a borrower can also conduct several soft searches without leaving a mark on their credit history and therefore, not affecting their credit score. This will help the borrower assess as to which lender is more likely to accept their loan application.

But there are certain requirements that need to be met if the borrower wants to apply for a bad credit loan, and they are - 

• The borrower is required to be over the age of 18
• The borrower is required to be a legal citizen of the United Kingdom (Britain)
• The borrower is required to have an active bank account

The borrower is required to show the lender that they are more than capable of paying back the borrowed amount. 


There are several websites that help individuals by reviewing and comparing loans for people with poor credit history and scores and it will also further help in filling out the respective forms. Once the application is filled out, the websites will come up with a list of lenders who may offer the borrower their loan, this list is based on the application filled by the borrower.

But these applications will not be sent out to the lenders, which means that the borrower can compare and review the best lender for him and then send the application to them for approval. Once the loan is approved by the lender/financial firm, then the requested amount of money will be transferred to the borrower’s bank account. These loans usually get approved within a day.

Although few lenders are more sparing with the interest rates charged when it comes to bad credit loans, most of the lenders charge a higher rate of interest for bad credit loans, mainly because of the risk they are putting themselves in.

Once the loan is approved and transferred, the borrower is expected to pay back the loan within the specified period of time, if he fails to do so, then the borrower may face heavy penalties.Although the process to apply for a bad credit loan may sound easy, it is up to the lender to make the decision of approving the loan. This means if you apply for a bad credit loan there are chances that it may not get approved.

Also the borrower must make sure that he/she chooses a loan that is affordable rather than trying to get any bad credit loan approved. This is a wise pointer that everyone must bear in mind.

Here are a few tips for people with poor credit scores who want to get bad credit loan approved

Consulting local financial firms or credit unions to understand which option may be the most optimal for them in their current financial situation

Sending out applications to two lenders is a wise idea

Individuals with bad credit scores can take a co-signer with them, making sure the co-signer meets all the criteria set by the bank and that he has a good credit score is important because that will help in acquiring the loan more easily and also help them get better offers in terms of interest rates. 

These are some of the tips that people can keep in their mind when it comes to taking out a bad credit loan, furthermore, it is important to improve one’s credit score, it will help them greatly when it comes to taking out loans and having a good credit score means reduced rates of interest. With a good credit score, getting any kind of loan, be it small loans, payday loans, business loans, is easy.