Mortgage firm Easy raises $15 mn in series A, focus on affordable housing

Tech-based mortgage finance startup Easy Finance said Thursday that it had raised $15 million from a clutch of investors in its series A round. Mumbai-based Easy was started in 2018 by investor-entrepreneur Rohit Chokhani.

The round was led by private equity firm Xponentia Capital Partners, founded by former Carlyle Group managing director Devinjit Singh. Harbourfront Capital, Finsight VC, RaSa Future Fund, Navida Capital, Helena Wasserman Eriksson and Integra Software also put in money.

Earlier in August 2019, Easy raised its first institutional capital from Harbourfront Capital, led by prominent Japanese investor Shijni Kimura who is also an investor in Softbank Vision Fund. Easy founder and director Chokhani said the fresh funds will be used for lending primarily.

Easy, which secured a housing finance license in 2018, offers housing loans through its mobile application, and predominantly focuses on the middle- and lower-income group segment. Loans through Easy are typically Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh over 10-year-plus tenures.

According to the company, its technology, which includes proprietary credit underwriting and decision-making framework, is its biggest differentiator. “We have developed an in-house property intelligence tech combined with credit tech we are able to deliver a seamless consumer experience within minutes and not days,” Chokhani said in an interview.

Housing loans typically require a lot of paperwork, collateral and take time to come through. Easy is part of a wave of emerging fin-tech companies that deliver financial services online and more efficiently. Mortgage-Tech, though nascent in India, is a significant emerging sector in the US with several unicorns, Chokhani said.

He added that the Easy's loan book was at $15 million, with plans to touch $150 million in two years.

“Mortgage is the most important financing decision for any family. Customers of Easy can focus on things that matter and not worry about drudgery and paperwork,” said PR Srinivasan, managing partner, Xponentia Capital Partners. “We are excited to partner with Rohit and the entire team in their journey to digitise the mortgage industry.”

"We see the unprecedented demand for affordable housing fueled by India’s growing urbanization and government initiatives like PMAY. At the same time, the lower income group segment was always considered to be the hardest for financial institutions. This is where technology comes to bring operating efficiency in the segment and superior customer experience,” said Alexey Garyunov, general partner at Finsight Ventures, in a statement.