India’s education driven fintech startup Finwego has raised $1.7 million (₹11.8 crore) funding from private equity firm SAIF Partners along with a group of HNIs and angel investors.
The startup will use the funds for expansion across state lines, growing a profitable book and strengthening its tech and data infrastructure.
“With the infusion of new funds, we are looking to build a high calibre team and digital infrastructure to support our robust growth plans. We plan to reach out to 10,000+ schools over the next 5 years and have a pan India presence,” said Shiv Vadivelalagan, cofounder and CEO of Finwego.
Finwego, based out of Chennai, provides personal loans for teachers, school fee loan for parents and, working and growth capital for schools.
The company classifies itself as an education-focussed fintech startup delivering lending products to all stakeholders of the school ecosystem.
Finwego caters to school management, parents, teachers, and vendors and acts as a one-stop-shop for all their financial needs.
With offices in Gurugram and Bangalore, SAIF invests majority of its funds in early stage startups. Approx 20% of its investments are in later stages where it holds the stake for a longer period of time. SAIF Partners fund is led by Ravi Adusumalli and has 5 more partners including Deepak Gaur, Mukul Arora, Vivek Mathur, Vishal Sood and Alok Goel.
“We are very optimistic about the company’s growth and product innovation and we believe that Finwego can positively contribute to the private school education ecosystem in India while building a profitable business. Excited to partner with them in the next phase of growth,” said Mridul Arora, managing director at SAIF Partners.
Furthermore, according to a Nasscom report, the Indian edtech segment expected to be a $1.96 billion market by 2021.