Techfino Raises Rs 650 Mn to Boost MSME Lending

Techfino, a technology-enabled non-banking financial company (NBFC), has raised Rs 650 million in funding from Stellaris Venture Partners and Saison Capital, the venture arm of Tokyo-listed Credit Saison. The fresh capital will be used to expand Techfino’s branch footprint, strengthen its technology platform, and scale its secured lending operations, particularly targeting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The company currently provides Loan Against Property (LAP) to MSMEs in Tier II and Tier III cities through a branch-led distribution model across Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. It also operates in the education finance space using a B2B2C model, collaborating with education service providers.

Founded in 2019 by Jayaprakash Patra (formerly of ICICI Bank and ING), Rajesh Panda (ex-Standard Chartered), and Ratikant Satapathy (ex-Bajaj Finance), Techfino offers MSME loans with average ticket sizes ranging from Rs 800,000 to Rs 1.2 million.

Commenting on the funding, Co-founder Rajesh Panda said, “Of the 64 million registered MSMEs in India, nearly 39 million are excluded from the formal credit ecosystem. This underserved segment, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas, is estimated to generate a quarterly credit demand of Rs 2 trillion. With limited participation from banks and large NBFCs, we are leveraging our risk expertise, in-house collections, and strong technology backbone to fill this gap.”

Fellow Co-founder Ratikant Satapathy added, “Our internally developed tech platform integrates with various external APIs, allowing real-time data access and verification. This has enhanced our underwriting process, improved efficiency, and significantly reduced turnaround time.”

To date, Techfino has disbursed over 100,000 loans and surpassed Rs 2 billion in assets under management (AUM). The company now plans to double its branch network in 2025, accelerate disbursements, and build a strong secured lending portfolio over the next three to five years.