Key Takeaways
- Sector: Financial Services & Fintech.
- Geography: India.
Analysis
India's Kiwi, the fintech startup that has innovatively merged credit with UPI (Unified Payments Interface), has successfully raised $24mn (INR 208 Crore) in a Series B funding round. This funding round was led by Vertex Ventures South East Asia & India, with additional participation from Nexus Venture Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Omidyar Network. The raised capital will be utilized to expedite the growth journey of Kiwi, enhance its product roadmap, and put an increased focus on building sustainable unit economics.
The Bengaluru-based company was founded by Siddharth Mehta, Mohit Bedi, and Anup Agrawal. They aim to transform how Indians use credit by providing seamless access to credit lines via UPI. Since Kiwi's launch in 2023, 2 Lakh RuPay Credit Cards have been issued on their platform, and they process over 5 Mn merchant transactions monthly across 600 Indian cities. The startup has formed strategic partnerships with YES bank and AU Bank and aims to collaborate with two more large banking partners within this financial year.
With the fresh capital, Kiwi plans to improve its consumer experience by upgrading its rewards program and introducing new features that will complement its core offering. These new features will include add-ons for credit cards and EMI enablement on UPI. Over the next two years, Kiwi aims to issue 1 million RuPay credit cards, reinforcing its position as a leader in the rapidly expanding Credit-on-UPI segment.
"As credit on UPI gains momentum, our vision is clear - we want Kiwi to be the go-to-platform for users by delivering an unmatched experience across onboarding, payment convenience, and rewards," said Anup Agrawal, Co-founder and CEO of Kiwi. He further added, "The fresh capital will enable us to double down on this commitment, supported by robust product innovations."
Kanika Mayar, Partner, Vertex Ventures SEA and India, expressed her excitement about the team's vision and execution and believes they are well-positioned to drive credit card adoption in India. With over 350 million unique UPI users in India today, nearly 8–10x the number of credit card users, the growth potential for Credit-on-UPI is immense.
Kiwi, established in 2022, is a fintech platform that introduced the concept of Credit-on-UPI in India. By integrating UPI’s extensive network with the flexibility of credit cards, Kiwi is enabling millions of consumers, especially those new to credit, to access credit in a simple, secure, and widely accepted manner.
Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India is a renowned early-stage venture capital firm committed to partnering with high-growth startups across Southeast Asia and India. They have a strong network and strategic expertise and have invested in successful companies across various sectors.