Rs 300 crore to be invested by IIFL Fintech Fund in early-stage Fintech Startups

The IIFL Fintech Fund, which is funded by Fairfax, plans to invest Rs 300 crore in early-stage Indian fintech start-ups over the next two years to help create cheap products and technology that boost financial inclusion.

IIFL Fintech Fund was launched in August 2021 with a specific Rs 140 crore sponsorship from two of the group’s subsidiaries, IIFL Finance and IIFL Securities. With the use of cost-effective technology, the financial services business with a significant retail interface hopes to provide last-mile loans. Within three months of its inception, the fund backed by IIFL Finance and IIFL Securities had already made four investments: Leegality, FinBox, Trendlyne, and DataSutram.

The IIFL Fintech Fund is in advanced talks to invest in ten new fintech start-ups before the end of March 2022. The IIFL fintech fund is India’s first corporate-backed fund dedicated to the fintech startup ecosystem.

“There is always need for early-stage funding to nurture the fintech start-up ecosystem,” said R Venkataraman, Co-Promoter of IIFL Group and Chairman, IIFL Securities Ltd. “Fintechs play a big
role in creating cost-effective delivery of various financial products to the underserved and unbanked customers and help in accelerating the financial inclusion process.”

IIFL Financing is one of India’s biggest non-banking finance providers, with a retail client base of 60 lakh across the country. They’re generally based in “underserved and unbanked” areas, which are a major emphasis for financial inclusion.

Other credit products that IIFL hopes to offer through such purchases include short-term company loans, cheap house loans, and financing to micro-finance units.

IIFL Securities, a retail-focused brokerage business with 23 lakh consumers, is also undergoing a digital transition. With the stock market growing, brokers can now provide a variety of capital market products in every part of the country.

The fund is an outgrowth of IIFL Securities’ #IIFLDisrupt initiative, which was started last year with the goal of providing financial, mentorship, and commercial assistance to solution-oriented Fintechs as the pandemic impacted the economy and start-up environment.

“IIFL Group’s entrepreneurial journey from one-room operation to a formidable financial services group in the last two decades helps us understand the investing, mentoring and growth needs of entrepreneurs in Indian financial services and fintech space,” said Venkataraman.