Fintech startup Aye Finance has raised debt funding worth $10 Mn from Cataylst Trusteeship Limited. This development was first reported by the news portal Inc42. The funding has reportedly happened through Cataylst’s two investment arms – AAV Sari and Masala Investment Sari.
This is Delhi based startup’s second fundraising in coronavirus hit 2020. In July this year, the NBFC had raised more than INR 200 Cr in series E round led by Capital G – Google’s investment arm.
Aye Finance’s two back-to-back funding has come at a time when the NBFC and Fintech sector has been badly hit by coronavirus lockdown that lasted for almost 5-6 months. With nationwide lockdown bringing MSME business to a grinding halt and consumer spending hitting a new low, Fintech sector’s loan recovery activities have been badly affected.
Although Aye Finance is purely focused on micro-entrepreneurs, the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the startup’s business cannot be ruled out completely.
Founded in 2014, Aye Finance solely focuses on providing affordable loans to micro-enterprises or micro-entrepreneurs, who are often overlooked by banks and financial institutions.
The startup claims that it has so far managed to support 58 million enterprises and 500 Mn livelihoods. The startup competes with Fintech NBFCs like Equitas, Ujjivan, Veritas Funding, and Synchrony Financial.
The six-year-old startup counts high profile investors Google G, LGT Lightstone, Falcon Edge, A91 Partners and MAJ Invest.