Vridhi Home Finance, a housing finance lender, has raised ₹150 crore in its maiden round of funding from venture capital firm Elevation Capital.
With the fresh funding, the lending startup wants to scale up operations, raise credit lines from larger lenders and expand in North Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Founded in 2022 by senior finance professionals Sunku Ram Naresh, Chief Executive Officer, Sunil Mehta, Chief Finance Officer and Sandeep Arora, Chief Operating Officer.
The Bengaluru-based start-up recently received its home finance license. It currently operates 20 branches across Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Vridhi focuses on providing secured housing loans with an average ticket size of ₹6-8 lakhs to the salaried and self-employed, who previously faced challenges in accessing formal credit.
Collaborations
In order to achieve this, the start-up is collaborating with leading providers of loan management software (LMS) and digital onboarding systems, ensuring a scalable, paperless and reliable operational process.
“With this substantial capital infusion, we are poised to advance our mission of providing accessible housing solutions. Our commitment to transforming homeownership aspirations into reality for numerous individuals nationwide remains resolute,” said Sunku Ram Naresh, Founder, MD & CEO of Vridhi Home Finance.
The housing finance segment in India is highly underpenetrated and showcases immense headroom for growth with the AUM on housing loans at $300 billion, which grew at a CAGR of 12 per cent over FY 18-21.
India’s mortgage market remains underpenetrated compared to several other emerging and developing economies at just 11 per cent of GDP, indicating a significant headroom to grow, said Mridul Arora, Partner, Elevation Capital.
“Vridhi is democratising access to credit for a massively underserved population, thereby bolstering financial inclusion. The Vridhi team brings unparalleled industry experience and drive to make homeownership more affordable and accessible to Indians. We are excited to partner with them to make this vision a reality,” said Mridul Arora, Partner, Elevation Capital.