ZestMoney, an Indian fintech startup that is helping secure loans and make purchases online to those without credit score, has announced that the company has raised $15 million in its extended Series B round.
The startup, which is based out of Bangalore, revealed that the new funding round was led by Goldman Sachs, along with the participation of existing investors Naspers Fintech, Quona Capital, and Omidyar Network.
As mentioned, this is an extended Series B round and not a new round. Lizzie Chapman, co-founder and CEO of the company said that the first tranche of this round was announced in April this year. With this funding, the total capital raised by ZestMoney so far stands at $63 million.
With lack of access to credit cards in India, ZestMoney assesses other data points and uses AI to help those without credit scores build a profile and become credit-worthy.
ZestMoney aims to disburse credit of worth $1 billion in 18 months and reach 300 million users one day. It claims to have partnered with over 3,000 merchants, including Flipkart, Amazon, and Paytm, to offer financing options at point-of-sale.
The company further claims to have more than 6 million users, who can access credit of $140 to $3,000. It also mentions that many of the merchants are offering interest-free option to customers, provided they could pay back in a specified amount of time.
This is yet another investment for Goldman Sachs in an Indian startup. The world’s largest trading bank has already invested in a few Indian startups, including logistics startup BlackBuck, home rental platform NestAway, news aggregator DailyHunt, and online furniture store PepperFry.
