PC: Inc42
Lending and payments startup Slice has significantly strengthened its financial muscles by bringing in a hefty amount of Rs 71.7 crore ($ 8.6 million) from founder and CEO, Rajan Bajaj, in the form of partly paid up shares. This comes on the back of the company’s recent successful debt funding of Rs 300 crore, raised through convertible debentures and co-led by such prominent entities as Taneja Family Trust, Anju Family Personal Trust, UK2 Family Trust, and MN Family Trust.
The company has announced, in a special resolution sanctioned by the board of Slice, that it will issue 22,000 equity shares at an issue price of Rs 32,606 each as per its regulatory disclosure with the Registrar of Companies. Rajan Bajaj’s investment will be made in one or more tranches and is also targeted for general corporate purposes, thereby supporting the expansion and operational objectives of Slice.
Slice is known for its innovation in not only physical and virtual cards targeting millennials but also has made online purchasing possible for students and salaried professionals without any collateral with EMIs, and hence it helps users to create and enhance their credit scores as well simultaneously.
Bengaluru-based firm Slice has accumulated valuable experience in raising capital by having raised nearly $400 million from rounds, including the massive $220 million series B round led by marquee investors Tiger Global and Insight Partners. Infact, according to an insight gathered by TheKredible, Tiger Global holds the largest equity stake in Slice, which is closely followed by Insight Partners.
Though Slice has not stated its FY24 revenues, it had seen three times growth in FY23 with its revenues soaring to Rs 847 crore from Rs 283 crore in FY22. However, even as a growth story, Slice saw its losses more than double to Rs 406 crore in FY23. Losses had stood at Rs 254 crore of the previous fiscal.
Startup founders and executives have been reinvesting in their ventures over the course of 2024. This has a whiff of confidence in the potential as well as viability of their businesses. Some notable examples include Yubi founder and CEO Gaurav Kumar, who has reinvested a sum of $30 million into the venture, and there’s also an example via an entity based in Singapore, Patient Capital, by Oyo’s founder Ritesh Agarwal. Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, co-founders of electric vehicle firm Ather Energy, have also committed by investing $10 million in the company.
Meanwhile, omnichannel jewelry startup Giva raised an undisclosed funding sum from its senior management-a trend that has been growing in which founders reinvest in their own firms to push growth and innovation.
The new funding injections into fintech and consumer lending at Slice and the general trend of reinvestment among startup leaders underscored the dynamism and resilience that define the Indian startup ecosystem as it continued to venture into new territories and propel innovation in the digital terrain.
