Digital lending patform Qbera raises $3 Mn from Essel Group's subsidiary

Fintech lender Qbera has raised $3 million in all equity deal from E City Ventures, a subsidiary of Essel Group. This is the first institutional round for the digital lending startup.

Qbera will use the proceeds ramp up its technology, swelling its team size and venturing into tier 2 cities like Patna, Chandigarh, Indore, and Bhopal. Currently, it operates in eight cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Founded in 2015 by Aditya Kumar, Qbera provides personal finance to the sub-segment of the salaried class who are usually overlooked by banks and financial institutions.

Qbera works with banks and NBFCs to provide loans to consumers. RBL bank, IndusInd bank and IIFL are some of the lenders to meet loan requirements of the target group.

The interest rate of loan varies between 10.99 per cent to 20 per cent. Further, it plans to offer loan products of smaller ticket size for shorter durations and also eventually target self-employed borrowers.

Also Read: Why you (salaried class) are the target of online lending startup Qbera

As of August 2018, the company has processed over 2,00,000 applications and disbursed loans worth more than Rs 50 crore.

With an annualised run rate of Rs 100 crore of loan disbursals, and delinquencies of less than 1 per cent, Qbera aims to extend loans worth Rs  400 crore by the end of FY 2019-20, said the company’s press statement.

Last year, Qbera had partnered with Droom to offer financing options for buying second-hand or pre-owned cars and bikes.

So far the Bengaluru-based startup has raised about $1.5 million and it competes with EarlySalary, IndiaLends, MoneyTap, and PaySense, among others.