iStockMumbai: Fintech startup YAP has raised $10 million in a Series B funding that was co-led by Flourish Ventures and Omidyar Network India at an undisclosed valuation. YAP’s existing investors—Beenext, 8i Ventures and Better Capital—also participated in the financing round.
This is a second fundraising for YAP in less than a year. The Chennai-headquartered startup had raised $4.5 million as part of its Series A round in April 2020.
YAP currently serves companies in India, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. It plans to expand to Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Vietnam and Indonesia, said Madhusudanan R, co-founder at YAP.
“We are uniquely poised to cater to new cohorts of distributors as more firms embed financial services into their digital platforms. This investment allows us to strengthen our technology teams, build new capabilities as well as reach new markets across Asia,” Madhusudanan said.
The company caters to around 20 banks in India including ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and RBL Bank, and several leading consumer internet startups such as Ola and PaisaBazaar.
The funding comes at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic induced acceleration to digital finance has made India’s fintech sector a lucrative investment avenue for investors.
“YAP is our first investment in embedded finance infrastructure in India, aligning with our principles of Fair Finance to foster a more inclusive economy,” Anuradha Ramachandran, investments director at Flourish Ventures, said. “The YAP platform provides the rails on which fintechs and incumbents can build new cases for the underserved segment, while delivering financial services in a cost-effective way.”
According to Amol Warange, director at Omidyar Network India, India’s rapidly digitising financial ecosystem will present opportunities for YAP to scale. “…we believe that digital enablers such as YAP can catalyse financial inclusion and drive usage of financial products across the next 500 million Indians expected to come online for the first time via their mobile phones,” Warange said.
This is a second fundraising for YAP in less than a year. The Chennai-headquartered startup had raised $4.5 million as part of its Series A round in April 2020.
The six-year-old company specialises as an Application Programming Interface (API) provider for banks, startups and consumer internet companies. The latest capital will be used to expand to international markets and strengthen the team through fresh recruitments.
YAP currently serves companies in India, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. It plans to expand to Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Vietnam and Indonesia, said Madhusudanan R, co-founder at YAP.
“We are uniquely poised to cater to new cohorts of distributors as more firms embed financial services into their digital platforms. This investment allows us to strengthen our technology teams, build new capabilities as well as reach new markets across Asia,” Madhusudanan said.
The company caters to around 20 banks in India including ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and RBL Bank, and several leading consumer internet startups such as Ola and PaisaBazaar.
Discover the stories of your interest
The funding comes at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic induced acceleration to digital finance has made India’s fintech sector a lucrative investment avenue for investors.
“YAP is our first investment in embedded finance infrastructure in India, aligning with our principles of Fair Finance to foster a more inclusive economy,” Anuradha Ramachandran, investments director at Flourish Ventures, said. “The YAP platform provides the rails on which fintechs and incumbents can build new cases for the underserved segment, while delivering financial services in a cost-effective way.”
According to Amol Warange, director at Omidyar Network India, India’s rapidly digitising financial ecosystem will present opportunities for YAP to scale. “…we believe that digital enablers such as YAP can catalyse financial inclusion and drive usage of financial products across the next 500 million Indians expected to come online for the first time via their mobile phones,” Warange said.
Get Unlimited Access to The Economic Times
