Digital lending startup Fibe has raised $90 million in a Series E round, attracting investments from TR Capital, Trifecta Capital, and Amara Partners. The round also saw participation from existing investors TPG Rise Fund, Norwest Venture Partners, Eight Roads Ventures, and Chiratae Ventures, encompassing both primary and secondary transactions.
Digital lending platform Fibe, previously known as EarlySalary, has successfully raised Rs 547 crore (approximately $66 million) in a Series E funding round. This marks the first investment round for the Pune-based company in the last two years. The round was led by TPG’s The Rise Fund and Kabira Holdings.
According to regulatory filings accessed from the RoC, Fibe’s board approved a special resolution to issue 5,46,75,600 Series E CCPS at an issue price of Rs 100 each, totalling Rs 547 crore. The Rise Fund led the investment with Rs 133 crore ($16 million), while Kabira Holdings contributed Rs 125 crore ($15 million). Additional participation came from Eight Roads Ventures, Norwest Capital, and Trifecta, investing Rs 41.6 crore ($5 million), Rs 62.5 crore ($7.5 million), and Rs 55 crore ($6.6 million), respectively. Amara Partners and Chiratae Ventures also invested Rs 29.17 crore and Rs 100 crore, respectively.
These funds are earmarked for expansion and growth in alignment with Fibe’s business plan. Post-investment, TPG’s The Rise Fund holds a 22.72% stake, with Eight Roads Ventures, Norwest Capital, Chiratae Ventures, and Kabira Holdings holding approximately 15.8%, 13.58%, 9.59%, and 6.01% stakes, respectively.
Founded in 2015 by Akshay Mehrotra and Ashish Goyal, Fibe specializes in personal and impact loans across various categories, including healthcare, ed-tech, insurance, and school fee financing. Recently, Fibe introduced India’s first numberless co-branded credit card. The company boasts of disbursing over 6 million loans amounting to Rs 20,000 crore.
In its Series D round in August last year, Fibe raised $110 million, led by TPG’s The Rise Fund and Norwest Venture Partners. With the latest funding, the total capital raised by Fibe exceeds $200 million.
Financially, Fibe reported significant growth, with operating revenue increasing by 2.3 times and profit growing over nine times in the fiscal year ending March 2023. According to TheKredible, a startup data intelligence platform, Fibe’s operating collections stood at Rs 414 crore in FY23, while profits surged to Rs 36 crore.
Fibe competes directly with companies like Slice, LoanTap, PaySense, MoneyTap, and IndiaLends in the consumer lending space.
