Ribbit Capital leads $45m round for India’s Capital Float
Capital Float, an online lending platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in India, has raised $45 million in a Series C round of funding led by Silicon Valley-based VC firm Ribbit Capital.
The company's existing backers SAIF Partners, Sequoia India and Chicago-based Creation Investments also participated.
In addition to equity financing, Capital Float has also raised more than $67 million over the last 12 months in new debt lines from banks including RBL Bank, IDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, as well as non-banking finance companies (NBFC) such as IFMR and Reliance Capital.
Operated by NBFC Zen Lefin, Capital Float offers short-term loans to underserved small businesses in India through a technology-enabled loan origination and credit underwriting platform. It uses a hybrid lending marketplace model whereby financial partners including banks and NBFCs jointly lend to borrowers alongside the company.
Capital Float provides funding to a range of sectors including manufacturing, services, e-commerce, transportation, hospitality, and retail. Last year, the platform disbursed over INR25 billion ($390 million) in loans to more than 15,000 customers across 300 cities.
The latest funding came one year after the company secured a $25 million Series B round led by Creation Investments with participation from SAIF, Sequoia, and Aspada Advisors. Prior to that, the company raised a $13 million Series A round.
Capital Float will use the fresh capital to increase its geographic footprint to 500 towns and cities across India, the company told Yourstory. It will also invest in scaling up its hybrid marketplace model and deepening technology integrations with partner financial institutions.
Earlier this month, fellow Indian finance platform provider LendingKart secured $10 million in debt funding from a group of financial institutions, according to AVCJ Research. It came less than two months after securing $7.8 million in loans from domestic commercial lender Yes Bank.
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