Indiagold announces USD $12M round which will be led by PayU and Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI) fund

New Delhi, August 27, 2021: indiagold - a gold-focused digital alternative credit platform, announced today that it has agreed to raise USD $12mn funding. PayU, the payments, and fintech business of Prosus, and Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI) fund, which is backed by DisruptAD and managed by Falcon Edge Capital, will lead the investment round with participation from Better Tomorrow Ventures, 3one4 Capital, Rainmatter Capital, and existing investor, Leo Capital.

Launched in 2020, indiagold offers gold-backed loans, gold savings, and gold locker services to over a million consumers in India. The founders Deepak Abbot and Nitin Misra have a strong track record of creating and leading some of India’s most successful financial products. Drawing from their extensive experience in the fintech space, the company aims to revolutionize and digitize lending against gold in India. The company is building an innovative doorstep gold loan business that is powered by a robust technology stack, AI-based gold assessment capabilities, and superior customer-centricity – offering faster gold release and a transparent repayment policy. indiagold’s Gold Locker is India’s first locker service that completely reinvents locker services to make them more secure, transparent, and convenient

The gold financing business in India is predominantly offline, dominated by the informal segment, which accounts for ~70% of gold loans in India. These loans address the liquidity needs of Indians without access to unsecured credit which is availed by less than 10% of the total working population. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the demand for short-term, low-cost, safe, and easily accessible formal credit options like digital gold loans. In response to the Indian consumer’s strong affinity for gold, indiagold offers fast, safe & convenient solutions to monetize household gold to meet specific credit needs, and is emerging as a trustworthy alternative to India’s unorganized gold loan market.

Vijay Agicha, Global Head of Strategy & Growth, PayU said, “Empowering disruptive fintech entrepreneurs through early-stage investments is a key element of PayU’s growth strategy. By supporting businesses that complement our existing portfolio, we aim to achieve our vision of developing a fintech ecosystem that will meet the financial services needs of millions of Indians. We are very impressed with Deepak and Nitin's proven record of developing financial products at scale and have faith in their ability to build a profitable business.  We believe that indiagold has the unique opportunity to expand the addressable market on the back of its product offerings and scale the business up significantly. PayU is excited to partner with indiagold in its journey to digitally transform lending against gold.

Navroz D. Udwadia, Co-founder of Falcon Edge Capital said, “We are impressed by indiagold’s vision and its proprietary technology to solve critical pain points plaguing the gold loan industry in India. Gold, found in almost every household in India, is the key to provide affordable credit to every Indian. indiagold’s unique doorstep gold loan and gold locker products not only offer unparalleled customer experience but also enable it to offer credit at more affordable rates. The traction indiagold has seen in a short time is a testament to its superior product capabilities and the deep experience of its pedigreed founders. We believe the gold loan market is ripe for disruption and are thrilled to back indiagold’s founders”

Nitin Misra and Deepak Abbot, Co-founders, indiagold said, “India offers a large $650 billion addressable gold loan market which is highly fragmented and currently dominated by the informal segment. Even the formal segment hasn’t adopted digital practices at scale. indiagold’s suite of financial products bridges this critical need gap by digitally transforming lending against gold. We are proud to have the backing of industry-leading growth investors and take it as a reaffirmation of the inherent strength of our value proposition. With the support of our existing and new investors, we are moving aggressively towards our larger vision of establishing gold holdings as an alternate credit score, and creating a gold back credit platform for lenders to provide instant credit against gold.”


About indiagold
Established in 2020, indiagold is the brainchild of two consumer internet industry veterans Nitin Misra and Deepak Abbot. Since its inception, the company’s steadfast goal has been to enable the monetization of India's private gold reserves by offering a suite of credit, savings, and investment products. indiagold prides itself in building innovative products and technology that solve age-old constraints regarding gold loans and lockers thereby making it more accessible, reliable, and affordable for customers - www.Indiagold.co


About PayU

A Prosus group company PayU is the payments and fintech business of Prosus, a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Operating and investing globally in markets with long-term growth potential, Prosus builds leading consumer internet companies that empower people and enrich communities.

Prosus has a primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam (AEX: PRX) and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (XJSE: PRX) and is majority owned by Naspers.

For more information on Prosus and its companies and investments, please visit www.prosus.com.


About DisruptAD
DisruptAD is ADQ’s venture capital platform. Its activities include investments in start-ups and venture capital funds, as well as the creation of new incubators and accelerators to support Abu Dhabi’s evolution as a global start-up destination and accelerate the development of its innovation ecosystem. DisruptAD invests across the UAE as well as other global markets including the Middle East and North Africa region, India, China, South East Asia, and the United States. The platform aims to support and nurture over 1,000 start-ups by 2025.

DisruptAD is also responsible for the Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI) Fund, the $300 million venture fund that focuses on Indian and South East Asian start-ups. In addition, it manages the $145 million Ventures Fund, a flagship initiative of the Government of Abu Dhabi’s Ghadan 21 programme.

About Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI)
Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI) is a $300m venture fund, which is backed by DisruptAD and managed by Falcon Edge. AWI has a dedicated team across London, Bangalore, and Abu Dhabi.

The fund invests in early-stage tech-enabled, disruptive start-ups in India and Southeast Asia. In addition to providing outstanding founders with early-stage capital, AWI offers access to an unrivalled set of support mechanisms for business-building, while also helping companies expand globally and open up new markets in the GCC/MENA region and beyond.

About Falcon Edge Capital
Falcon Edge Capital is a diversified global alternative asset manager co-founded in 2012 by Rick Gerson, Navroz D. Udwadia, and Ryan Khoury. Falcon Edge manages approx. $5.5bn in assets across public and private markets. Falcon Edge has offices in New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Bangalore. The firm offers a variety of investment products and strategies that cover several asset classes, themes, and geographies.