Billionloans gets Rs 7-crore funding from Reliance Capital

Bengaluru:  Billionloans Financial Services Ltd on Monday said it closed a seed funding round of Rs 7 crore ($1 million) from Reliance Corporate Advisory Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Capital.

As a technology-enabled financial services company, the city-based Billionloans provides financing options to individuals and small businesses, which find it difficult to access loans from the traditional banking system to meet their aspirations.

"Our goal is to disrupt how borrowers are sourced and appraised using technology. This will lead to a dramatic change in access, both for borrowers with thin credit histories and lenders looking to expand beyond their traditional customer bases," Billionloans Chairman V. Balakrishnan said in a statement.

The company will initially focus on loans to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for affordable housing, education and personal factors.

"The investment from Reliance Capital is a great validation of our business model," asserted Balakrishnan, a former member of software major Infosys Board, Exfinity Venture Fund Chairman and an early investor in Billionloans.

Announcing the funding, Reliance Capital Executive Director Anmol Ambani said technology and innovation in financial services would play a big part in bridging the gap between aspirations of large number of people wanting access to credit and the ability of companies to build efficient and scalable lending models.

"We look forward to support Billionloans in its vision and partner in their growth," said Ambani in the statement.

Founded by serial entrepreneur Rangan Varadan, the company connects borrowers to lenders directly and uses technology-based credit analyses to assess eligibility and process applications.

"Though we want to make borrowing easier for SMEs and individuals, we are finding it difficult to access loans to achieve their goals," said Varadan.

The company has tie-ups with leading financial institutions and banks to its technology platform and plans to disburse Rs 2,000 crore loans over the next three years.

"India has a large pool of unbanked population without access to formal banking system. With technology enabling access, our goal is to help the borrowers," added Billionloans Chairman Balakrishnan.