PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024

Indian FinTech Lentra Nets $60M on $400M Valuation

Lentra, fundraise, investments, Series B

India-based lending software provider Lentra has raised $60 million in a Series B funding round and said it will use the new capital to expand into international markets, make acquisitions and enhance its products. 

The firm is now valued at $400 million, according to a FinTech Global report.

With the fundraise, the company said it is “ready for the world as the most trusted digital lending platform, empowering clients to democratize credit through rapid processing and accurate decisioning” in a post on LinkedIn. 

The startup will now expand to three Asian markets — Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam — according to an Inc42 report that Lentra shared in the post. 

The firm will also build a “war chest” with which it may make acquisitions, according to the report. 

“We see a massive opportunity for ourselves in the retail assets and business banking areas worldwide … Tenfold revenue growth and some of the biggest retail banks as our clients now act as markers of our solution architecture,” Lentra CEO and Co-founder D Venkatesh said, per the report. “I am excited that our investors see the same opportunity and are confident of our ability to execute.” 

Lentra’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform offers lending solutions that help banks throughout the lending process. Its products assist with loan origination, credit score verification, loan management, fraud check and documentation. 

This announcement comes about two weeks after India’s Cashfree Payments debuted a new tool designed to help non-banking financial companies meet the country’s new digital lending rules. 

This disbursement and collections solution can create lender escrows, manage partnerships with lending service providers and handle things like borrower identity and bank account verification. 

India’s digital lending sector has grown rapidly along with the country’s FinTech sector, Cashfree Payments Co-founder and CEO Akash Sinha said Oct. 27. 

“With the exponential growth, there is a strong need to enable compliant and scalable solutions for loan disbursals, loan repayment and KYC [know your customer] verification among other things,” Sinha said. 

PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024