Indian fintech startup funding fell 45% to $6.3 billion in 2022: IIFL report

• This was due to several factors including global economic headwinds and the Russia-Ukraine war.
  
• Overall funding for startups declined to $46.69 billion in 2022, from $74.5 billion in 2021.
  
• The Indian fintech market is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years, and reach a market size of $1.3 trillion by 2030.
  

Indian fintech sector funding declined 45% to $6.3 billion in 2022 from $11.5 billion a year ago, due to several factors including global economic headwinds and the Russia-Ukraine war. This is in contrast to 2021, when the Indian fintechs and the Indian startup space overall received record funding, as per the Fintech Report by IIFL, a financial services firm.

Overall funding for startups declined to $46.69 billion in 2022, from $74.5 billion in 2021.

The Indian startup ecosystem is anticipated to witness yet another record year for venture capital investments, with a substantial number of ventures securing private funding. Although prominent late-stage investors may be adopting a cautious approach due to the devaluation of the global tech sector, and investor wariness towards emerging domains like cryptocurrency and metaverse, the early-stage segment of the ecosystem is experiencing a surge in activity and excitement.

Says Mehekka Oberoi, fund manager at IIFL, “Indian fintech industry has come a long way from the mid-1990s when online banking services were first introduced. The fast adoption of the mobile phone coupled with cheap internet access has meant that masses in India have taken to payment apps and on-tap credit solutions. Today, these fintechs have become a “one-stop shop”, addressing shortcomings of the traditional financial services industry on one hand, and innovating to create superior experiences.”

The Indian fintech market is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years, and reach a market size of $1.3 trillion by 2030.

Growth in market size of sectors in fintech

Sector	Estimated market size by 2030 ($ billion)	CAGR (%)
Digital lending	515	33.5
Wealth-tech	237.4	31.6
InsureTech	88	33.7
Neo-banking	215	20

Source: IIFL Fintech Report

Growth in disbursement

The Indian fintech industry appears to have embraced the guidelines set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as indicated by the disbursement data for the third quarter ending on December 31, 2022. According to data released by the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE), disbursements demonstrated significant growth in both value and volume. In terms of value, disbursements increased by 118% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) and 2% sequentially, reaching ₹18,537 crore in the third quarter of FY23. As for volume, there was a remarkable growth of 147% Y-o-Y, and 6% sequentially.