Fintech start-up Kiwi has raised $13 million as a part of its latest round of funding led by Omidyar Network India. Existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Stellaris Venture Partners also participated in the round.
The company plans to deploy the proceeds to launch newer products over the next year including no-cost equated monthly installments (EMI) on UPI and eventually start credit-line on UPI, which was allowed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) earlier this year. NPCI operates the UPI service in the country.
“The funds will enable us to further develop our services and offer innovative products to our customers as we enter the next phase of product development and growth. With this funding round, we are excited to welcome our new investor, Omidyar Network India onboard and humbled to have the confidence and trust of our existing investors Nexus and Stellaris in our business,” said Anup Agrawal, co-founder and CEO of Kiwi.
Founded in November 2022 by Siddharth Mehta (ex-CEO, Freecharge), Mohit Bedi (ex-Axis Bank and PayU) and Anup Agrawal (ex-business head, LazyPay), Kiwi launched ‘credit cards with UPI’ by issuing digital RuPay Cards in collaboration with banks.
This marks the second institutional fundraise for the start-up founded in February 2023. It had last secured $6 million in May, which saw participation from Nexus and Stellaris along with some angel investors. Currently, Kiwi has issued 25,000 credit cards and aims to on-board 5 lakh customers by end of 2024. It has partnered with Axis Bank and plans to collaborate with two large banks in the next six months.
“Increasing access to affordable and convenient financial products beyond digital payments and ensuring deeper and more consistent usage of formal credit is the critical next step in advancing the financial inclusion journey of India’s next half billion. We are thrilled to lead this investment in Kiwi,” said Treasa Mathew, Director, Investments, Omidyar Network India.