Shubh Loans raises Rs 34 crore funding from Omidyar Network and others
Bengaluru-based Shubh Loans, the subsidiary of Datasigns Technologies Pvt Ltd, has raised Rs 34 crore funding in its Series A2 funding round led by Omidyar Network India, and other existing investors including Saama Capital, Beenext, SRI Capital, and Pravega Ventures. The firm aims at expanding its customer sourcing platform, increase its technology capabilities, and develop the data science team and credit scoring platform to incorporate the next-gen features like ‘Credit Locks.’ The startup will also be expanding its on-ground sales team and extend distribution to nearly 40 cities by the end of the year.
E-health store & online pharmacy MetroMedi raises $1.5 million from TK GP Rao
Hyderabad-based online pharmacy and e-health store startup, MetroMedi has raised $1.5 million from TK GP Rao, the founder of TMT Group of Industries. The startup was founded by Dilip C Byra, a passionate entrepreneur. In 2018, Byra started MetroMedi with a mission to deliver 100% genuine medicines to the consumers’ doorstep. MetroMedi’s functioning is simple- the patients share their prescription through WhatsApp, and the MetroMedi staff provides the medication to them on a recurring interval. The company initially started delivering medicines in Hyderabad. It then expanded to six more cities, including Kakinada, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Bengaluru, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam- that are a mixture of Tier I, II and III cities. By far, the company claims to have completed 100k orders with a 99% prescription fill rate.
Shell acquires 20% stake in solar power company Orb Energy
Shell’s new energies business has acquired a 20% stake in Orb Energy, a Bengaluru-based solar energy solutions provider in India. The company, founded in 2006 by NP Ramesh and Damian Miller, offers credit to SMEs to invest in their rooftop solar systems. Since the launch, the startup has sold more than 160k solar systems in India with a total capacity of around 75 megawatts. Orb Energy employs 250 people in India and also has operations in Kenya. The company has received $13 million in equity and $10 million debt in Series A & B rounds by far. It aims at raising Rs 220 crore funding from new and existing investors that include FMO from the Netherlands, Bamboo Capital Partners from Luxembourg, Rianta Capital from Switzerland, Acumen Capital Market Funds I from the US, and Pamiga SA from Luxembourg.
Matrubharti raises Rs 3.24 crore in the angel round
Ahmedabad-based startup Matrubharti, a vernacular content firm, has raised Rs 3.24 crore in an angel round from US-based Gujrati NRI angel investors. The financing comes at a point in Matrubharti launching its OTT video streaming platform Matubharti Vishseh in July this year. One of the angel investors includes Darshan Jani, a serial entrepreneur turned investor and a global leader in Robotic Process Automation. The company, founded in 2013, claims that it has over 1 million registered users and more than 250,000 monthly active users. With the funding, the firm plans to add content in three South Indian languages soon on its platform and build a stronger technology and data intelligence for better user engagement. The capital will also help the company to boost its sales efforts besides expanding into the geographies.
Udaan raises funding worth $585 million led by Tencent, Altimeter, among others
The Bengaluru-based B2B e-commerce platform, Udaan has raised funding worth $585 million led by Tencent, Altimeter, Footpath Ventures, Hillhouse, GGV Capital, and Citi Ventures and also saw participation from existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global. Udaan’s valuation currently, with this fundraise, stands at $2.5 billion to $3 billion. Udaan, founded in 2016 by Sujeet Kumar, Amod Malviya, and Vaibhav Gupta, began its operations a year later and achieved the unicorn status on September 2018. By far, it has been one of the few companies to accomplish a private valuation of $1 billion in the shortest period.
FinBox raises funding in Pre-Series A round led by Arali Ventures
Bengaluru-based FinBox has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in Pre-Series A funding round led by Arali Ventures with participation from Anup Pai, founder of Fintellix. The fintech startup plans to use the funding to further product research and development and to drive adoption.
The company, founded by Rajat Deshpande, Anant Deshpande, Nikhil Bhawsinka and Srijan Nagar in 2015, is a credit risk management platform with proprietary data connectors that allow financial institutions to lend to self-employed merchants and young credit customers. The firm claims that consumer lending NBFCs use its platform and presently processes 1 million loan applications each month, the majority of which are from new-to-credit customers.
