Y-Combinator-backed Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) fintech start-up BharatX has acquired Zenifi, a healthcare finance start-up providing zero-cost and low-cost EMI solutions. BharatX, a company providing credit as a service to end users, will be entering the medical lending segment with this acquisition.
As part of this deal, Padam Kataria, the co-founder and CEO of Zenifi, will join BharatX as the Head of Business – Healthcare. Zenifi was founded in 2023 by Padam Kataria, Harshit Shrivastava, and Rajendra Kulkarni. It offered affordable payment options, with partnerships established across multiple hospitals and aggregators. Zenifi also generated an annual rate of demand worth over ₹1.2 crore.
Long-standing ties
BharatX has a long-standing partnership with Zenifi since they were one of the earliest partners to provide a lending platform to extend credit. By being a part of BharatX, the Zenifi team can leverage the pre-existing lending platform and realise better economics. The acquisition will allow BharatX to break into the healthcare sector, one of the largest sectors needing credit.
Mehul Jindal, Co-founder & CEO, of BharatX, says, “The healthcare sector faces a significant challenge when it comes to paying for medical services. This becomes a problem, especially during emergencies. India continues to spend the largest amount for accessing healthcare through their own pockets, making availing medical facilities an expensive proposition. We have been working with Zenifi which is addressing this problem head-on by providing realistic and affordable solutions. This acquisition will allow BharatX to go deeper into the healthcare vertical where currently no fintech or traditional players can disburse credit instantly, which is critical in emergency healthcare.”
BharatX enables financing options for 125+ brands in a white-labelled manner.
BharatX recently announced partnerships with Cashfree, a prominent payment gateway, alongside existing partnerships with brands such as Flo Mattress, Snitch, and Mokobara.
“Joining forces with BharatX is a good opportunity for Zenifi. We have first-hand experience in making medical lending easy and accessible. With BharatX’s well-established credit as a service, the synergies between the two companies will ensure that we can accelerate the speed with which we capture the market. Our goal is to offer easy credit solutions to millions of Indians who are currently left with no choice but to pay OOP for medical situations,” said Kataria.