Fintech startup ePayLater raises $10M from Responsibility, Blue Ashva Capital, Pravega Ventures, others

• ByStartupStory     |    September 24, 2021

Fintech Startup ePayLater has raised $10 million in its Series B round from Responsibility Investments, Blue Ashva Capital, Pravega Ventures and other investors.Earlier, the startup had raised from Pravega Ventures, ICICI Bank and Japan’s GMO Global Fintech Fund. The company plans to use the funding to reach out to more customers and retailers across locations, and enhance the offering to become a one-stop-solution for all financing needs of the small businesses – wholesalers/traders/kiranas.

The Founder Aurko Bhattacharya said, “At ePayLater, we are driven by the vision of making credit accessible to as many retailers and small businesses as possible. In the last two years we have transformed the lives of over 70,000 retailers in India and this round of funding helps us to reach out to many more retailers and help them in improving the efficiency, profitability of their businesses by giving them the best tools that technology can provide.” ePayLater provides a zero cost credit solution to SMEs spread across 100+ cities in the country and has disbursed over Rs 1,000 crore in facilitating inventory purchases. The company works closely with B2B majors like Walmart, Metro Cash and Carry, Bigbasket, etc., and also directly with large FMCG brands. This solution is available to retailers across physical and digital sales channels and empowers SMEs to purchase inventory across product categories at the best available prices without being constrained for credit.

It also helps reduce trust deficit that typifies digital B2B commerce as buyer obligation to pay arises only after goods are physically received, with a further period of 14 days of interest free credit.

Akshay Dua, Head of Private Equity – Sustainable Food APAC, Responsibility Investments, said,“In India, kirana stores are an important part of the economy, supporting millions, and we saw how indispensable they were during the lockdowns. India cannot grow inclusively without removing the inefficiencies in the system. With its innovative tech platform that allows alternative underwriting, and embedding finance in the process, ePayLater is creating a massive impact by providing financial inclusion and achieving digital transformation in the country.”

The kiranas, small traders, and wholesalers are a significant force in the economy of the country and a huge impact sector, as there are about 12 million kirana stores in the Food and Groceries segment alone. Each of these stores touch the lives of at least 50-100 households. Thus, any solution which helps in improving the efficiency, productivity, and profitability of the segment, directly impacts millions of lives.

“Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is a growing space globally and there is a significant potential to utilise this to provide interest-free credit to retailers and SMEs for their efficient working capital requirements. ePayLater is a leading digitally integrated player with major B2B platforms in India and we look forward to closely working with them in growing this further,” added Satya Bansal, Founder of Blue Ashva Capital.

ePayLater provides a zero-cost credit solution to SMEs spread across 100+ cities in the country and has disbursed over Rs 1,000 crore in facilitating inventory purchases. The company works closely with B2B majors like Walmart, Metro Cash and Carry, Bigbasket, etc., and also directly with large FMCG brands. This solution is available to retailers across physical and digital sales channels and empowers SMEs to purchase inventory across product categories at the best available prices without being constrained for credit. It also helps reduce trust deficit that typifies digital B2B commerce as buyer obligation to pay arises only after goods are physically received, with a further period of 14 days of interest free credit.

Akshay Dua, Head of Private Equity – Sustainable Food APAC, Responsibility Investments, said, “In India, kirana stores are an important part of the economy, supporting millions, and we saw how indispensable they were during the lockdowns. India cannot grow inclusively without removing the inefficiencies in the system. With its innovative tech platform that allows alternative underwriting, and embedding finance in the process, ePayLater is creating a massive impact by providing financial inclusion and achieving digital transformation in the country.”

The kiranas, small traders, and wholesalers are a significant force in the economy of the country and a huge impact sector, as there are about 12 million kirana stores in the Food and Groceries segment alone. Each of these stores touch the lives of at least 50-100 households. Thus, any solution which helps in improving the efficiency, productivity, and profitability of the segment, directly impacts millions of lives.

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