Lendingkart raises INR30 crore debt for expansion

Lendingkart, an online lending startup for small and medium enterprises (SME), has raised INR30 crore of debt capital from Anicut Capital, a Chennai based alternative asset management firm. The funding is raised against issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs), and is expected to be used by the firm for expanding its loan book and penetrating more regions in the country. The startup, founded in 2014 by Harshvardhan Lunia and Mukul Sachan, had last raised $32 million capital in Series B equity funding led by Betelsmann India Investment.

Lendingkart Group is the parent firm of two entities i.e. Lendingkart Technologies Pvt. Ltd, a technology firm, and Lendingkart Finance, the non-banking financial company (NBFC). Harshvardhan Lunia, co-founder Lendingkart, said that “The latest round of NCD will further bolster our loan book and enable us to serve the credit needs of many more SMEs. We look forward to leverage Anicut’s rich experience in banking and small business financing in times to come”.

The startup underwrites working capital loans to SMEs with an annual turnover of INR12 lakh to INR1-1.5 crore. On an average, the startup lends INR5.5-6 lakh at an annualized interest rate ranging between 16% to 24%, for a duration of six to 12 months. Till Dec’16, the company had disbursed 7,000 loans to SMEs in over 450 cities, and aims to cross 10,000 loans till June’17.