Our weekly column summarizes the tech financing highlights in India this week.
Mortgage lending won investor attention in India this week. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Housing for All” scheme in 2015 to provide housing facilities to everyone in urban areas by 2022. The programme gave a boost not just to developers looking to construct low-cost housing projects but also to finance companies in this segment. This week, mortgage lender Shubham Housing received USD 48 million in a Series-D round led by PremjiInvest. It provides retail home loans for up to 15 years to buy or construct a property. It largely caters to low-income customers such as skilled workers, who often find it difficult to get loans from banks due to a lack of formal income proof. After this round of financing, the company aims to grow its loan book sixfold in the next five years.
On January 19th, IoT (Internet of Things) startup Faclon Labs raised undisclosed funding in a seed round led by BCCL. Faclon Labs works toward weeding out inefficiencies in water management and creating sustainable solutions. The startup plans to fund its product development and commercialisation efforts.
On January 22nd, ed-tech startup, AEON Learning, which offers professional education targeting working professionals, raised USD 3.2 million for Series-B from MEMG Family Office. The startup will use the capital to expand business from its university partnerships and skill programmes.
On January 23th, personal finance management app, WealthTrust, raised USD 0.5 million in funding for Series Pre-A from India Quotient. WealthTrust tracks users’ expenses, bank balance, and bill payments via natural language processing. The startup plans to use the funds to enhance its products and boost growth.
On January 24th, social networking app Spoofin, which lets users create and view Spoofs of your favourite videos, raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Mumbai Angels Network. The company targets a global market and aims to launch its minimum viable product (MVP) in international markets early this year.
（Top photo from 699pic.com）
