Matrix Partners'“ backed OfBusiness raises INR 200 crore
New Delhi, India '“ July 18, 2018: OfBusiness, a technology enabled SME financing platform, has raised INR 200 crore in Series C financing led by Creation Investments and Falcon Edge with existing investors Matrix Partners India and Zodius Capital participating in the round. With this new round of funding, the company has raised a total of INR 500 crore of equity and debt funding till date. The company has also raised debt lines from Kotak, Tata Capital, RBL Bank and Northern Arc amongst other lending partners.
OfBusiness has created a new category of purchase finance for SMEs with a variety of short-term and long-term financial products, enabling access to institutional credit. OfBusiness also differentiates itself by adding value to an SME's business beyond financing, through its raw material fulfilment and new opportunities platform (Bidassist). This integrated offering enables higher business yield, repetitive loan transactions and better asset quality.
"We are great believers in the potential of SME lending in India towards the core sectors of the economy including manufacturing and infrastructure that have high dependence on traders and distributors for working capital. With financial services partners as Creation Investments and the right cost of capital through our debt lines, we will continue to bundle innovative lending and procurement solutions to address the growing needs of SMEs in India,' said Asish Mohapatra, co-founder and CEO, OfBusiness.
OfBusiness combines financing and a raw materials platform, seamlessly through technology. Underwriting of loans is done by not only evaluating financial data of the SME, but also proprietary data on anchor customers contributed by the SME community of buyers and sellers. Amongst its other service offerings, OfBusiness has also developed a proprietary platform, Bidassist, to help SMEs discover new growth opportunities across public and private tenders.
OfBusiness has demonstrated strong growth (10X AuM growth over last year), portfolio health (GNPA ~0.5%) and bottom line profitability. The latest infusion of growth capital will be used by OfBusiness for continued rapid growth, greater financial leverage and scaling a robust profitable model.
Commenting on the fundraise Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Director, Matrix India, added, "OfBusiness captures the SME's need for repetitive purchase finance with a unique business model. Their proprietary data advantage is reflected in the increasing efficacy of underwriting and support from marquee banking partners. We're privileged to partner at an early stage with Asish, Ruchi and Bhuvan to create an SME financial services platform and welcome the new investors to the partnership.'
Tyler Day, Director at Creation Investments, said, "We are thrilled to partner with the OfBusiness team for the Company's next stage of growth. OfBusiness has built an impressive suite of financing solutions tailor made for the needs of SMEs in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, segments largely underserved by banks and traditional NBFCs. The scale and profitability that OfBusiness has achieved in such a short time is both a testament to the Company's innovative products and the untapped potential of the SME sector in India. We are excited about the Company's future and the opportunity ahead'.
About OfBusiness:
OfBusiness is the brand name for Oxyzo Financial Services, a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) registered with the Reserve Bank of India and its parent OFB Tech Private Limited that provides various B2B services to SMEs. As a technology driven SME financing platform, OfBusiness adds value to SME's business beyond financing through its raw material platform and Bidassist- its new opportunities platform. OfBusiness currently has operations across 25 industrial clusters across 9 hubs and is headquartered in Gurgaon.
Further information is available at www.ofbusiness.com
About Creation Investments:
Creation Investments Capital Management, LLC is a leading alternative investment management company with a focus on private equity investments in Microfinance Institutions, Small-and-Medium Enterprise lenders, Emerging Market Banks, and other BOP Financial Services Providers. Together with their portfolio companies, Creation Investments provides access to capital and needed products and services for those living in poverty to engage in small-business activity and income generation, significantly impacting those living at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Currently, Creation Investments' portfolio companies directly serve over 10 million entrepreneurs with over $7 billion in small business loans outstanding, and millions more with micro-savings, micro-insurance and mobile payment tools.
About Falcon Edge Capital:
Falcon Edge Capital is a diversified global alternative asset manager founded in 2012 with offices in New York and London. Falcon Edge offers a variety of investment products that cover several asset classes, themes and geographies. These include public equity, venture capital, sovereign debt, distressed, activist and a US listed public company vehicle.
About Matrix Partners India:
Matrix Partners India is an investment firm with INR 4,500 crores under management. Founded in 2006, the firm invests in companies targeting the Indian consumer and enterprise market at the seed, early and early growth stages. Matrix India has invested in several market leading companies such as Ola (local transportation), Quikr (online classifieds), Practo (digital health platform), Dailyhunt (mobile local language platform), Treebo (digital hotel chain), Mswipe (mobile POS), Five Star Finance (SME lending), Razorpay (payments), OfBusiness (credit led B2B marketplace), CreditVidya (Fin-tech SaaS)and ZipLoan (small business lending)among others. Matrix India has advisory offices in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. Matrix Partners has a global network of funds investing in the US, China and India with US $4 billion under management. Further information is available at www.matrixpartners.in