Fintech lender InCred has broken the dry spell, becoming India’s second unicorn of the year with a successful funding round that raised $60 million from a mix of new and existing investors. InCred Wealth, the wealth management arm of InCred, took the lead by investing $36.76 million, followed by MEMG Family Office contributing $9 million. Additional investors included Ravi Pillai, Chairman of RP Group of Companies, and Ram Nayak, Co-Head of Deutsche Bank, injecting $5.4 million and $1.2 million, respectively.
Participation also came from InCred Special Opportunities Fund VCC, Varanium Capital Advisors, and NABS Vriddhii. This funding round has propelled InCred’s valuation to $1.03 billion. The firm’s previous funding of $68 million was secured in a debt funding round from public sector banks and financial institutions.
During FY23, InCred experienced a substantial 77.4 percent growth in operating scale, reaching Rs 865.6 crore compared to Rs 488 crore in FY22. Notably, InCred has a diverse product portfolio, offering SME loans, including working capital and term loans, channel finance, as well as personal loans for weddings, medical needs, travel, and education.
InCred’s collaboration with Zomato for “hassle-free” credit facilities marked a strategic move. The emergence of InCred as a new unicorn in India contrasts with the overall funding landscape for tech startups in 2023, which has seen a significant decline. The total funding for the year, until December 5, stood at $7 billion, reflecting a 72 percent drop from the previous year’s $25 billion. This decline spans all funding stages, with late-stage funding experiencing a decrease of over 73 percent, followed by early-stage funding (70 percent) and seed-stage funding (60 percent), as reported by Tracxn, a leading global market intelligence platform.