India rural fintech player Jai Kisan raises $50m
India’s Jai Kisan, a financial technology start-up focused on digital banking in rural areas, has raised USD 50m in Series B funding from a group including DG Daiwa Ventures and Blume Ventures.
Arkam Ventures, GMO Venture Partners, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Northern Arc Investment, Unitary Fund, Yara Growth Ventures, Snow Leopard Ventures, MAS Financial Services, and Cephalopod Teknik Fund also participated.
The round, which comprises a mix of equity and debt, is reportedly set to raise a further USD 30 to USD 50m. It follows a USD 30m Series A last year and more than USD 5m in seed funding since inception in 2018, according to AVCJ Research.
Previous backers include Trifecta Capital, Prophetic Ventures, Stride Ventures, Blacksoil, Better Capital, and Nabventures. The financial Inclusion Lab, a philanthropic group backed by JP Morgan, was the first institutional investor.
Jai Kisan aims to be a comprehensive digital financial services provider for small businesses and individuals in regional areas that are not serviced by existing financial institutions. It observes that more than half of India’s USD 3.2trn GDP comes from such areas.
The lead product, an app called Bharat Khata, provides services primarily geared toward supply chain finance and credit products suited to rural clients. It targets businesses of all sizes and structures, especially in agriculture.
“We believe in the potential of fintech to become the infrastructure for growth in India and other emerging countries, and we will accelerate our investment in this area,” DG Daiwa said in a statement.
The Japanese VC firm, a joint venture of Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group, has ramped up its India exposure in the past 12 months, notably in fintech. Recent deals include small business banking app Mewt Account and youth credit card Slice, which is also backed by Blume and GMO.
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