Indifi raises Rs 145 Crore in its Series C round of funding led by CDC Group

Indifi Technologies, India’s leading SME focused lending platform, completed a successful Rs 145 Crore Series C funding round, led by UK government owned development finance institution CDC Group. Existing investors including Accel, Elevar Equity, Omidyar Networks and Flourish Ventures participated in the round.
CDC invests for impact across Africa and Asia. With over 30 years in India, CDC is one of India’s leading investors with $1.7billion invested in the country.  Its backing will help Indifi access new local markets and verticalize further, increasing both coverage as well as offerings—which are among the prime areas where the platform plans to utilize the funds raised.
Indifi Technologies is a Gurgaon-based platform for enabling debt-financing for small businesses. It aims to substantially improve the experience for borrowers regarding credit access as well as speed and convenience of the loan process. Driven by the idea of expanding access to MSME financing in India, Indifi has emerged as an enabler for start-ups and small businesses seeking seamless access to funding. Indifi expands the envelope of formal lending by designing the right-fit credit products for MSMEs, improving the standard of risk assessment, and leveraging the supply chain linkages of MSMEs. Indifi works with over half a dozen banks and NBFCs to enable them to lend to such MSMEs. Indifi currently serves over 15,000 customers through its innovative credit offerings.
Commenting on the funding round, Alok Mittal, MD & Co-founder, Indifi Technologies, said “CDC’s investment validates our business model and further augments our operational capabilities. Indifi is committed to facilitating access to credit for the 65 million Indian MSMEs, and CDC’s expertise and network will help us build a robust and responsible business. The funds raised will be used to diversify into new verticals, develop technology and data infrastructure for future growth, and expand our service offerings to our customers.”
Srini Nagarajan, Managing Director and Head of Asia at CDC Group said, “Backing India’s leading SME lending platform fits in well with CDC’s core strategy to improve people’s lives. Our investment will support Indifi to increase its SME lending multifold over the next five years, including customers that are harder to reach and otherwise wouldn’t have access to growth finance’. Its market leading digital platform advancing product design for customers; responsibly supporting the growth of thousands of SMEs, generating income for families and their local communities across India.”
Nearly 80 percent of India’s MSME enterprises still depend on informal sources to meet their funding requirements, with high-interest rates, rigid payment cycles and limited amount of fund availability being the major inhibitors. Further, there is an addressable credit gap of $ 397 Billion in the sector and Indifi is extensively working towards bridging this gap for MSMEs in India by making credit easily accessible to them especially for the underserved businesses that are typically considered risky propositions by the formal sector.