SUMMARY
- VentureSoul Partners has made first investment from its first venture debt fund.
- It has infused Rs 20 crore debt into a lending tech startup True Balance.
- This funding will be used by True Balance to expand its business further.
VentureSoul Partners has made first investment from its first venture debt fund, injecting Rs 20 crore debt into a lending tech startup True Balance.
This funding will be used by True Balance to expand its business further, according to a LinkedIn announcement by the venture debt firm.
In September, VentureSoul completed the first close of its first fund at Rs 145 crore with a target corpus of Rs 600 crore.
This fund is recognized by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as a Category II alternative investment fund (AIF) and has attracted investments from family offices, corporations, high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), and other investors.
True Balance is managed by Balancehero India which is a subsidiary of Korea-based Balancehero Co. Ltd. It started its operations in India in 2017 after receiving a license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to offer wallet services. In 2019, the company received approval from the central bank to operate as a non-banking financial company (NBFC).
True Balance offers loans up to Rs 1.25 Lakh and services for utility bill payments. The company targets clients with a credit score of at least 650 and currently oversees assets worth Rs 1,100 crore, serving over 9 lakh active customers.
True Balance competes with other fintech firms like MobiKwik, Paytm, PhonePe, Navi, among others.
The company reported a 2.3X increase in its net profits, rising from Rs 59 crore in FY23 to Rs 138 crore in FY24. True Balance’s operating revenue increased by 54.8% YoY to Rs 667 crore in FY24 from Rs 431 crore in FY23.
This funding comes at a moment when debt financing is at an all-time high, despite the current funding drought and the emergence of new ways to raise capital. This debt financing option also allows startup founders and other shareholders to drive expansion without having to dilute their ownership.
Notably, agritech startup WayCool has secured a debt funding of Rs 100 crore from Grand Anicut. Just a few days prior, edtech startup Vedantu also managed to secure Rs 19.25 crore in a combination of debt and equity financing from Stride Ventures.
Last month, adtech startup InMobi also managed to secure $100 million in debt funding from Mars Growth Capital.
