Indian digital payments firm BharatPe is reportedly planning to raise $150-200m in equity and $500m in a debt financing round.
In an interview, BharatPe CEO Ashneer Grover said that the startup initially aims to raise nearly $100m of equity by March 2021, Livemint reported.
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Grover added that debt financing will be raised over the course of two years.
The latest development comes after the payments and alternative lending startup secured $75m in a Series C funding round raising its valuation to $425m, back in February 2020.
This round was led by Coatue Management and fintech investor Ribbit Capital. Existing backers Insight Partners and Steadview Capital and new investor Amplo also joined the round.
The latest funding round could bring BharatPe’s valuation to $1bn, making it the seventh fintech unicorn in India, the report added citing people familiar with the matter.
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By GlobalDataThe company intends to use the fresh capital to boost its lending business by launching new products and expanding into the retail ecosystem.
BharatPe is planning to launch a distributor-to-retailer financing product called ‘BharatPe DtoR’, this month.
BharatPe will facilitate wholesalers with a credit line with an average ticket size of INR5m, and distributors can provide retailers and shop owners loans up to INR100,000 for 30 days.
Grover said that non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), along with other fintechs will extend the $500m debt financing to BharatPe’s merchant base.
So far, the company has raked in $40m of debt funding, the Livemint report added.
Grover said: “We are more excited about the debt we are raising from international banks and financial institutions, as we look to create an India-focused credit fund.
“Most of the players in the market go to raise equity and we are in a situation where we have 24 months of capital runway, considering our burn rate.
“We will continue raising equity and debt towards our lending business.”
