Propelld raises $35 mn in Series-B funding led by WestBridge Capital

Propelld, an education focused fintech platform has raised $35 million in Series B funding round led by WestBridge Capital along with existing investors - Stellaris Venture Partners and India Quotient.

With the current funding round, Propelld plans to grow the loan book rapidly in a segment with low credit penetration, and offer new products for various verticals within education. Currently employing around 150, Propelld plans to add another 100-150 employees over the next year across technology, business development and collections.

Bibhu Prasad Das, co-founder, CEO at Propelld, said, “We would like to thank all our institute and lending partners who have believed in us. With the latest capital infusion we will strive towards building better financial products for the educational ecosystem which will further benefit our partners. “

Founded in 2017 by IIT Madras trio of Bibhu Prasad Das, Victor Senapaty and Brijesh Samantaray, Propelld has tie-ups with over 550 educational institutes and is currently clocking an annual loan disbursal run rate of Rs 600 cr.

"India spends over $90 billion annually in education, however the financial penetration is still very low. Propelld aims to address this gap and increase education loan accessibility to students through tech based products. We believe Propelld will become the go-to financial player in the Education domain just as we’ve seen strong vertical-focused financial players in other domains like Affordable Housing, SME Lending, Consumer Durables etc. Propelld is already profitable and has consistently maintained excellent credit quality," said Deepak Ramineedi, partner, WestBridge Capital.

“Their NPA numbers, revenue, and profitability gives us a very strong belief in the fundamentals of the company” said, Anand Lunia, partner, India Quotient.

“What is exciting for us is how the team has thought about leveraging technology from the ground up in all aspects of the company’s operations which is one of the secret sauces of them being highly efficient," said Ritesh Banglani, partner, Stellaris Venture Partners.

With a strong foothold in the ed-tech, up-skilling, and job-focused market, Propelld plans to expand its operations in other education segments too.