PC: Business Today
The rural fintech startup, Jai Kisan has raised Rs 26.5 crore from its extended Series B round from the existing investors – Unitary Fund, Mirae Asset Venture and Blume Ventures. The funding round was approved through a special board resolution and the shares were allotted by the company at the issue price of Rs 2,70,133 per share at 980 compulsory cumulative preference shares (CCPS). Not only does this strategic move give the company a vital infusion of capital, but it also further uncovers the company’s commitment to further the financial services industry in rural commerce spaces.
Regulatory filings filed by the Registrar of Companies listed that Mirae Asset Venture contributed Rs 12.5 crore, while Unitary Fund contributed Rs 12 crore and Blume Ventures dropped in Rs 2 crore. Jai Kisan is estimated to have a post-allotting valuation of about $180 million. The company was founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs Arjun Ahluwalia, Adriel Maniego, which has recently become a key player of neo banking and specializes in credit for online and offline transactions in rural areas.
Jai Kisan’s take on things as an innovation to cater to the peculiar financial requirements of rural people and small businesses is to provide credit solutions that help smoother transactions in a market that is often underserved. Through the use of advanced technology together with locally proven insights, the startup is poised to lead the way on financial inclusion and stimulate economic growth across the vast country of India’s countryside. The recent funding round will accelerate product development, market expansion and technology advancement for added credit access to more customers and improved customer experience.
In another development relating to Dehaat, it reported an operating revenue of Rs 39 crore for fiscal year ending March FY 24, the company however reported a loss of Rs 51 crore during the aforesaid period. Last year, the company made strategic acquisition of Kushal Finnovation Capital Private Limited in order to secure an NBFC license, which enabled the company to optimize its business model as it grew its service suite. Dynamic advancement of the rural fintech unravels the expansion of Jai Kisan and Dehaat, a new age of rural financial service which adapts the traditional financial value through innovative digital technology and focused investments.
The Series B funding of Jai Kisan and Dehaat’s operational milestones portray a change in the landscape of the rural financial space. With these companies fine tuning their product and increasing their market reach they are playing to new standards of financial inclusion and economic empowerment in rural India.
Both startups are likely to leverage their creative business models and healthy investment support to speed up growth, drive technological innovation, and rework the villages in India’s financial ecosystems.
