India-based fintech company ZestMoney has successfully raised $20 million in funding. The Series B funding was led by Quona Capital, making the company’s total value up to $42 million.
Apart from Quona Capital, other investors that backed the latest round of funding for ZestMoney include Naspers, Omidyar Network, Reinventure, and Ribbit Capital.
Last August 2018, one of the giants in the tech industry which supported ZestMoney was Xiaomi. Through Xiaomi, the company was able to raise $13.4 million in Series A Funding.
Following this, the company decided to level up its game and improve its digital lending services.
Humble Beginnings
According to Tech Crunch, ZestMoney was founded by its Chief Executive Officer, Lizzie Chapman, in 2015. Together with Chapman, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Priya Sharma, and Chief Technology Officer, Ashish Anantharaman started the fintech company following Chapman’s move to India after working and living in the United Kingdom.
ZestMoney is primarily involved in working with consumers who have little to no credit history. In particular, it focuses on helping individuals without credit cards, little available data, and little credit history. The pay-day loan company then specializes in building a more attractive profile that allows the said consumer to appear and become more credit-worthy.
By giving these customers access to small loans, ZestMoney provides individuals with the avenue to prove their credibility by making timely payments.
Today, Tech Crunch notes that the financial technology startup has now partnered up with some of the biggest names in the industry, spanning more than 800 merchants. These include big names in the market, namely Amazon and Flipkart. Through these partnerships, the business is able to offer its patrons affordable financing options at point-of-sale counters. As a result, customers can now purchase big-ticket items such as electronics, education services, vacations, and many more.
