Mumbai-based rural fintech firm, Jai Kisan has raised Rs 30 crore in pre-Series A funding round led by Arkam Ventures which also saw participation from NABVENTURES fund, a fund backed by NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development). Jai Kisan is NABVENTURE’s first investment.
“The fresh round of fundraising saw participation from existing investors including Blume, Prophetic Ventures and Better Capital. The round also saw participation from prominent leaders in finance and agri like an affiliate of The Chatterjee Group (TCG), Rajiv Sahney (New Vernon Capital), Sanjay Mariwala (Omniactive) and others,” said the statement from the company.
Jai Kisan was founded in 2017 by Arjun Ahluwalia and Adriel Maniego, alumni of Texas A&M University who later quit their private equity and restructuring job respectively and moved back to India to begin this startup. The firm is a fintech platform for rural emerging markets that facilitates a suite of financial products to rural customers.
Ahluwalia stated, “We set out on the mission to change the way financial services are delivered to rural customers. Over the past few months, we have built a diverse book while ensuring delivery of credit instantly and more importantly – cheaply, across 10 states including the most backward parts of the country.”
The startup facilitates low-cost financing options for equipment, input and invoice financing for rural borrowers at the ease of their fingertips or any of the firm’s partners’ tech-enabled locations. Jai Kisan has disbursed over Rs 50 crore in loans of top-tier credit quality to a diverse set of 5,500+ borrowers from various income groups across 10 states in last six months.
Rahul Chandra, Managing Director of Arkam Ventures said, “Very few startups have the commanding view of a large untapped space. Even fewer startups have the luxury of tailwinds in these challenging times. Jai Kisan is a rare combination of both of the above along with a unique business model that adds value to multiple participants of the agri supply chain.”