Paytm Payments Bank raises USD 9.3 M for undisclosed round
Paytm Payments Bank
Founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Founded in: 2017
Financing status: USD 9.3 M for undisclosed round in 2017
Noida-based Paytm Payments Bank (PPB) has raised USD 9.3 million from Paytm and One97 Communications founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma as well as other existing investors. The company plans to soon launch its own debit card.
PPB was launched in May 2017 and is primarily owned by Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Sharma is likewise the founder & CEO of Paytm, a leading Indian mobile payment company. He is also the founder & CEO of One97 Communications, which offers digital goods and services to mobile consumers under the Paytm brand, as well as other services for merchants.
PPB is a new model of bank regulated by the country’s central banking institution, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). PPB now offers banking services like debit cards, online banking, and mobile banking. It can accept deposits of up to INR 100,000 (USD 1,562) per customer into a savings account with no minimum balance requirement. Although PPB does not offer its own financial products as a business entity, it can act as a business correspondent and partner with other financial institutions and banks to offer loan products, fixed deposits, insurances, etc. According to its website, PPB will provide customers with services such as insurance, loans, and mutual funds offered by their partner banks.
PPB will likely use the newly raised investment to expand among India’s large banking population.
B2B e-commerce platform Power2SME raised USD 10 M from IFC
Power2SME
Founders: R. Narayan
Founded in: 2012
Financing status: USD 10 million for undisclosed round in 2017
Gurugram-based B2B e-commerce platform Power2SME has raised USD 10 million in equity funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
Power2SME was founded in 2012 by R Narayan, who previously has worked as director of Denave India, a sales enablement company. Prior to that, Narayan worked at other tech companies including Microsoft and Oracle.
Power2SME is India’s “Buying Club” for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It builds bridges between SMEs in the manufacturing industry and raw material suppliers of metal, polymer, chemicals, yarn, and more. The startup claims to have more than 50,000 SMEs and over 400 suppliers on its platform. It has launched two initiatives, SME Shops and FINANSME. SME Shops is an online portal where SMEs can buy and sell goods online whereas FINANSME is a financial product targeted at SMEs who want to obtain loans for various needs. Power2SME has 6 additional offices across India, such as Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata.
R Narayan, CEO of Power2SME, said that IFC’s extensive experience in supporting the SME sector through financing and deep networks with banks and financial institutions will help with Power2SME’s vision to make SMEs bankable.
The e-commerce platform aims to increase the number of users on its platforms by up to 10 times in the coming five years.
(Top photo from Paytm Payments Bank website)
