Sequoia-backed Indian fintech firm nets $1.4m from Stride Ventures-led round

India-based VC firm Stride Ventures said it has led a 100 million rupee (US$1.37 million) round in Progcap, a Sequoia-backed fintech startup that provides working capital to retailers.

This marks the VC fund’s fourteenth investment from its first fund and the second investment in the fintech space, it said in a statement.

(From left to right) Pallavi Shrivastava and Himanshu Chandra, co-founders of Progcap / Source: Progcap

Founded in 2017, Progcap aims to provide credit for last-mile businesses through a mix of technology and alternative data-driven credit scoring. To date, the company claims to have 200,000 retailers on its platform from Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 cities across India, according to the statement.

Progcap aims to use the new funds to help increase its assets under management and reach more retailers across the country. It also plans to strengthen its ties with banks and corporates by leveraging Stride’s network.

The New Delhi-based fintech startup claims to have scaled up 5x post-Covid-19. Its co-founders Pallavi Shrivastava and Himanshu Chandra added that the company just crossed US$100 million in disbursals and expects to reach a gross merchandise value of US$1 billion by March of next year.

“India has a complex supply chain. However, the solutions for small dealers and retailers are limited,” said Stride founder and managing partner, Ishpreet Gandhi. “Accessibility to credit will enable them to be at the forefront of India’s consumption story, and Progcap is well positioned to drive this change.”

Stride Ventures launched its Stride Venture India Fund I in 2019 and plans to invest in 25 to 30 startups from its maiden fund. The company is also looking to launch a second fund with a larger corpus later this year.