Fintech startup Kissht, which provides collateral-free loans, has raised $2 million from early-stage technology-focused fund Endiya Partners and Ventureast.
With this investment, the total amount raised by the company so far stands at $2.7 million. The startup is also reportedly in the process of raising its series-B round of investment.
Krishnan Vishwanathan, CEO, Kissht, said,
Going forward, we will be a data and analytics company enabling consumers to get loans from banks and NBFC working with us as lending partners.
Sateesh Andra, MD, Endiya Partners, said,
We have a large population, decent number of smartphones and bank accounts.However, while we have about 600 million debit cards, credit cards are only about 30 million in India, which is a huge gap underlining the opportunity for consumer lending companies.
Kissht was founded in the year 2015 and provides collateral-free loans to consumers to facilitate purchases for goods like mobiles, laptops, jewellery, and electronics.
In July 2015, Kissht began piloting its service by keeping inventory of products, like smartphones, that consumers would quickly buy and apply for finance. Companies like Caratlane.com and Edupristine signed up with Kissht to deliver services and let users apply for loans to avail services.
By the end of 2016, the app had 78,000 downloads by users looking to buy services through these collateral-free loans. The company says that 19 percent of the app users were repeat customers.
The said startup uses partner platforms for promotions — a banner either on the product or the checkout page. When the customer applies for a loan, his KYC validation is done by linking his Aadhaar number. Following which an OTP is sent to the customer on his mobile and the loan is closed.
The company currently lends through its captive NBFC, using it as a proof-of concept vehicle to further innovate on consumer loan disbursements.
India has one of the largest unbanked population in the world, so there’s definitely a room for competition. Kissht’s competition includes Zest Money, Capital Float, Cashe, and Faircent, among many more.
