Ola invests in Avail Finance, to build financial solutions for driver-partners

Cab aggregator Ola has a signed strategic partnership with online lending startup Avail Finance under which both companies will build financial solutions for 1.5 million driver-partners of the ride-hailing firm.

As part of the tie-up, Ola has invested an undisclosed sum in Avail Finance.

Earlier this month, Avail had announced raising USD 9 million funding led by Matrix Partners India.

"Avail Finance has entered into a strategic partnership with Ola to build financial solutions for its base of 1.5 million driver-partners. As part of this partnership, Ola will be making a strategic investment in Avail Finance in its series A round of funding," Avail said in a statement on Friday.

Ola's investment - which is part of Avail's series A round - is in addition to the USD 9 million announced already. It, however, did not disclose the quantum of investment made.

Avail aims to build customised financial solutions for Ola, including micro-savings and micro-insurance products for the Bengaluru-based company's driver-partners, the statement said.

"We already have close to a million registered users through our various offerings and have processed requests of over USD 50 million. This strategic partnership will further help us expand our offerings to a large, growing base of users with very unique needs," Avail Finance founder Ankush Aggarwal said.

Avail's portfolio of new-age financial solutions are very relevant for Ola's large and growing base of driver-partners, Ola Chief Operating Officer Puneet Bhirani said.

"We are constantly looking at ways to enhance their quality of life and we see this partnership with Avail, helping our partners with access to financial offerings that are tailored to their needs," he said.

Avail Finance provides unsecured online loans, amongst other financial solutions, to blue-collared workforce of India. Its offerings serve users across food-tech, logistics and staffing majors including Swiggy, Ecom Express and Quess Corp, among others, the statement said.