Accion Venture Lab, a seed stage investment vehicle for financial inclusion firm Accion, has sold its stake in Varthana; Varthana provides specialized loans and services so people in India can afford to attend private schools; Accion Venture Lab's first investment into Varthana was in 2013; Varthana recently raised $14 million in the spring of 2016. Source
The Prime Minister of India has announced a ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes in India in an effort to fight corruption; P2P platform i2iFunding says the ban will help P2P lenders by reducing cash-based lending in the country and requiring citizens to utilize digital finance solutions; earlier in 2016 the Reserve Bank of India said it would be issuing guidelines for P2P lenders; i2iFunding says the focus on cash-based corruption will now be the central bank's focus; in October, leading P2P lenders formed the Alternate Finance and P2P Lenders Association; founding members Monexo, Lend-Box, LoanMeet, i-lend and Faircent have been the most active. Source
Faircent has released a market report on P2P lending in India; report says Faircent, India's largest P2P lender, had funding of over Rs 1 crore ($150,000) in August 2016 and has been growing originations at a 15% to 20% monthly rate; report also provides insight on the platform's borrowers; in India, P2P platforms continue to await guidelines from the government which are expected to help improve business efficiency. Source
India-based platform, KredX, who focuses on providing short-term working capital to blue-chip companies, has raised a Series A round; Sequoia Capital has joined existing investor Prime Venture Partners in the round; company was founded in 2015 and has facilitated 3,000 transactions ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore (approximately $1,600 to $214,000); company views invoice discounting market opportunity at $100 billion. Source
An online lending startup with a unique concept has raised $500,000 in seed funding; CreditMate seeks to offer online loans for bikes and scooters in India; the company has partnered with 25 dealers in Mumbai and the process works similar to an auto loan; borrowers can identify the bike of their choice and work with the dealer for purchase and loan approval. Source
The Economist magazine's intelligence unit (EIU) has published a report on regulatory support for financial inclusion in developing countries and it is now gaining traction with press and analysts; the report scores countries on having an inclusiveness strategy and building governmental and private sector expertise, then provides in-depth details in areas including credit markets, non-regulated lenders, payments and insurance; Colombia ties Peru this year for the most progressive country; India has shown the most improvement; Latin America and East/South Asia are leaders regionally while Africa and the Middle East remain behind; the EIU performed the research in conjunction with the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion and the Multilateral Investment Fund at the Inter-American Development Bank. Source
Consumer point of sale lender, Finomena, owns India’s most downloaded fintech app and they hope to continue gaining customers in this emerging market; led by Riddhi Mittal, formerly of Microsoft, and Abhishek Garg, a private equity investor, the company has exploded serving millennials who have little or no credit; they focus on extending credit for electronics, laptops, smartphones and furniture, which they view as good and productive categories for loans; the company has also pioneered flexible monthly installments in India and are looking to raise a Series A round soon. Source
India company, Bharat Financial Inclusion, has reported financial performance that is demonstrating success with a rural-focused audience, operational cost controls and reduction in cost of funds; this strategy compares with other micro-lenders in India that are seeking rapid loan volume growth in urban centers, but with limited or negative profitability; Bharat announced net income growth of 87.3% to Rs146 crore (US $22 million) in the second quarter ended September 30; the marginal cost for borrowing to fund micro-loans has declined to 9.5% in Q2, and its average interest rate to borrowers stands at 19.75%. Source
MPOWER Financing, which provides funding for international students attending US universities, secured $6 million in funding; the round was led by private equity firm, Zephyr Peacock India; the company will use the capital to enhance its technology and expand marketing efforts in emerging markets, especially India; in addition to providing loans the company also helps to build credit history of students and provides them with personal finance education to use in life after college. Source
[Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Rajat Gandhi. Rajat is the Founder and CEO of India’s largest P2P platform,...