Google’s PE fund Capital G invests in MSME lending startup AyeFinance for the third time

• Aye Finance, the lending startup for micro, small and medium enterprises, has raised ₹210 crore from CapitalG – Alphabet’s growth fund.
• Founded in 2014, the startup has disbursed loans worth ₹3000 crores to over 200,000 businesses in six years.
• Aye Finance adds itself to the list of startups that have raised funds despite the coronavirus pandemic which has made many investors hold their guns.

Aye Finance, the lending startup for micro, small and medium enterprises, has raised ₹210 crore from CapitalG – Alphabet’s growth fund. The Series E round also saw participation from GT Lightstone, Falcon Edge Capital, A91 Partners and MAJ Invest.

CapitalG had first invested in the Series C round of the startup.

Meanwhile, Aye Finance adds itself to the list of startups that have raised funds despite the coronavirus pandemic which has made many investors hold their guns.

“Difficult times are a true test of a good lender and we have already started showing significant improvements in the customer repayments in the past months. Our loans are underwritten with cluster insights and this continues to assure good repayment behavior in our portfolio. Our deep connect with customers, our engaged team that rates us as a great place to work, our extensive presence on the field, supported with automation, is a huge differentiator that enables us to optimally restrict credit losses,” said Sanjay Sharma, Managing Director, Aye Finance.

Meanwhile, Aye Finance, founded in 2014, has disbursed loans worth ₹3000 crores to over 200,000 businesses in six years. The company also recently ranked 14 in India’s best places to work, by Great Place to Work Institute.

In November last year,the startup had raised ₹125 crores from the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank – FMO.

The latest funding comes at a time when the Indian government is focusing on the MSME sector. According to the Finance Minister’s recent steps for MSMEs, ₹3 lakh crore collateral-free automatic loans will be made available for businesses, along with a 4-year tenure, 12-month moratorium available till October 31, 2020.

“This will be fully credit guarantee cover for lenders (both banks and non-banking finance companies) on both principal and interest. This is an emergency credit line for small businesses,” she said during her speech on May 13.

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