True Balance raises $23 million from Korean investors
What's the story
Fintech start-up True Balance has received $23 million in Series C round of funding. The company, which started with providing mobile balance management services, now offers micro-loans and also plans to launch a bunch of new products. The latest round was led by Korean investors NH Investment & Securities, IMM Investment, D3 Jubilee Partners, SB Partners, HB Investment and Shinhan Capital.
True Balance
True Balance and its services
True Balance was founded in 2014 by Charlie Lee, an alumnus of the University of Chicago. The company started its India operations in 2016 by offering mobile balance management services but has now evolved into a full-fledged financial services company offering micro-loans up to Rs. 50,000. Notably, it claims to process around three lakh digital transactions from its portal on a daily basis.
Previous investments
The company is already backed by SoftBank
Prior to this investment, True Balance had raised $23 million in Series B2 round led by Line Ventures, Naver Corporation, and others. The company had also received $15 million in Series B1 round from giants like SoftBank Ventures Korea, IMM Investment Group, Mega Investment, Korea Development Bank, and Capston Partners as well as an undisclosed amount from SoftBank Ventures in Series A round.
Future plans
Now, it plans to launch a bunch of new products
True Balance plans to utilize the fresh funds to expand its loan book, bring more tech to its platform, hire new talent, and invest more in marketing. The company is also planning to launch a bunch of new products such as rail and bus tickets, an equated monthly installment (EMI) service, digi-gold, and instant cash loans by the end of this financial year.
CEO's statement
Goal to become India's leading fin-tech company
"We aim to strengthen our data and ACS (alternate credit scoring) strategy to provide better financial services to our target- the next billion Indian users," Lee, the CEO of True Bank, said while detailing his future plans. He further added, "Our goal is to reach 100 million digital touch points and become one of the top fin-tech companies in India by 2022."