StrideOne raises ₹100 crore, appoints Rajesh Sud co-founder, chairman

StrideOne has raised ₹100 crore in equity and structured debt and appointed industry veteran Rajesh Sud as co-founder and chairman as it strengthens governance and scales its MSME credit platform

StrideOne has raised ₹100 crore at the holding-company level through a mix of equity and structured debt to fund its next phase of growth. The tech-enabled non-bank lender, which provides digital supply-chain finance and receivables management solutions to MSMEs and SMEs, also appointed Rajesh Sud as co-founder and chairman. Sud has also taken an equity stake in the company.

 

Together, these developments mark StrideOne’s transition into its next stage of institutional scale, strengthened governance, and balance-sheet growth. The fresh capital will support expansion of enterprise anchor programmes, growth of StrideOne’s partner-lender network, continued investment in technology and risk infrastructure, and stronger capital buffers to enable responsible MSME credit growth.

 

 

“The capital raise and Rajesh joining us as co-founder in the journey are pivotal moments as we build StrideOne into a scaled MSME credit platform. His experience will bring institutional resilience and momentum to our platform, strengthening both our processes and innovation as we grow,” said Ishpreet Singh Gandhi, founder, StrideOne.

 

As co-founder and chairman, Sud will guide StrideOne’s long-term strategy, strengthen governance and risk frameworks, build leadership depth, and support the company’s evolution into a scaled institutional credit franchise.

 

“After nearly thirty-four years of helping build large financial institutions, I wanted to return to what excites me most — building again, this time as an entrepreneur,” said Sud.

 

Over a career spanning more than three decades, Sud has played a key role in building and scaling leading financial institutions in India. As a founding member and later CEO and managing director of Axis Max Life Insurance, he led the company for nearly two decades, helping build it into one of India’s largest and most admired private life insurers. He has also served as chairman of Niva Bupa Health Insurance and as managing director – financial services at Bharti Enterprises, where he oversaw Bharti AXA Life Insurance and Bharti AXA General Insurance, while serving on the board of Airtel Payments Bank. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at Bank of America and ANZ Bank.