ZestMoney, a purchase now, pay later startup whose capacity to underwrite small ticket loans to first-time web clients attracted many high-profile buyers, together with Goldman Sachs, is shutting down following unsuccessful efforts to discover a purchaser.
The Bengaluru-headquartered startup — which additionally recognized PayU, Quona, Zip, Omidyar Community and Ribbit Capital amongst its backers — employed about 150 individuals and had raised over $130 million in its eight-year journey.
The startup’s new management, which knowledgeable the staff concerning the resolution to close down Tuesday, didn’t reply to a request for remark. The startup will absolutely wind down by the top of the month, the management stated.
The transfer follows ZestMoney founders quitting the startup in May this year after acquisition talks with fintech large PhonePe didn’t materialize. The founding group handed over the agency to 3 new leaders, who raised a number of million {dollars} from present buyers and tried to discover a new path for the corporate.
They engaged with many buyers and fintech giants in latest months to discover offers, individuals conversant in the matter stated.
ZestMoney, as soon as valued at $445 million, was amongst a handful of Indian startups that used various information factors to assist construct credit score profiles on customers, making them eligible to make their first on-line purchases.
India’s low bank card penetration has left a majority of the inhabitants with out conventional credit score scores, which banks depend on to judge creditworthiness earlier than issuing loans. Moreover, small loans don’t yield vital returns for banks, disincentivizing them from issuing such monetary merchandise. In response, ZestMoney, alongside different rising startups like Axio and LazyPay, has tried to carve out a distinct segment in a market historically dominated by monetary large Bajaj Finance.
Tuesday’s information is the second blow for Omidyar Community this week. Omidyar-backed Doubtnut — which had raised over $50 million and as soon as obtained a $150 million acquisition deal — agreed to sell for $10 million, TechCrunch reported Monday.
