Kiwi Fintech Secures $24 Million in Series B Funding
In a significant development for the fintech sector, Kiwi Fintech has successfully raised $24 million (approximately ₹208 crore) in its Series B funding round. The investment was spearheaded by Vertex Ventures Asia, encompassing participants from Southeast Asia and India, alongside notable investors such as Nexus Venture Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Omidyar Network.
This fundraising comes shortly after Entrackr reported on Kiwi’s forthcoming financial endeavors, highlighting its commitment to innovating in the fintech landscape.
Utilization of Funds
The freshly acquired capital will enable Kiwi to accelerate its product roadmap, enhance unit economics, and expand its customer acquisition strategies. This is a crucial step, as fintech solutions increasingly cater to an evolving consumer base that demands seamless access to credit.
About Kiwi Fintech
Founded in 2022 by industry experts Siddharth Mehta, Mohit Bedi, and Anup Agrawal, Kiwi Fintech offers users innovative access to Rupay credit cards via Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This allows users to utilize credit at a multitude of merchants that accept UPI payments, providing greater flexibility and convenience.
Growing User Base and Market Presence
Since its inception, Kiwi has made notable strides, issuing over 200,000 Rupay credit cards and facilitating more than 5 million market transactions monthly across 600 cities. This rapid expansion showcases Kiwi’s robust operational model and its potential to reshape the credit landscape in India.
Collaborations with Banking Partners
Kiwi has already established partnerships with Yes Bank and Small Finance Bank, with ongoing discussions to onboard two additional major banking partners. This strategy is aimed at broadening Kiwi’s service offerings and enhancing customer trust and reliability.
Future Goals and Vision
Looking ahead, Kiwi aims to issue 1 million Rupay credit cards by 2027. This ambitious target underlines the company’s commitment to expanding financial inclusion in India, where UPI boasts over 350 million unique users—far surpassing traditional credit card users.
Market Context and Competitive Landscape
The funding round occurs as various fintech competitors like Lazypay, OneCard, Uni, and Slice enhance their efforts to provide UPI-based credit solutions. With the UPI acceptance network estimated to be 35 times larger than that of conventional credit cards, this positions Kiwi advantageously in the growing credit market.
According to data from the startup intelligence platform Thekredible, founders Mehta, Agrawal, and Bedi collectively hold approximately 16.2% equity in Kiwi, marking Nexus as the largest external stakeholder in this three-year-old fintech startup. Observers will be keen to see the dynamics of ownership as Kiwi progresses through its Series B round.