In a structured exit under favourable conditions, Accion, an early stage investor in fintech startup Aye Finance has sold its entire holding to A91 Partners. Accion had invested in Aye Finance on two more occasions after it had taken a position in its early days. After staying invested for five years Accion has now exited from the venture.
Aye Finance is into lending to MSMEs and other small enterprises which are unable to access banking finance for their operations. The startup uses latest technologies like machine learning in its processes to evaluate the creditworthiness of the loan applicants before approving the loans.
While the announcement on Accion’s exit from Aye Finance has come through, the details of the transaction like how many shares or the price at which the shares have been acquired by A91 Partners have not been revealed.
Aye Finance has been able to raise its assets under management from ₹500 crore to ₹1,500 crore in just the last two years and has reached a milestone of 200,000 loans disbursed since its inception, around five years back.
Both the investor exiting the venture and the new investment partner A91 Partners have good things to say about Aye Finance and the team led by Sanjay Sharma. The startup’s role in improving financial inclusion among the Indian small and medium businesses has come in for appreciation.
Aye Finance has developed an innovative methodology, “Cluster Based Credit Assessment”. In addition, the company has also developed an app which their customers can download and keep updating the sales and purchase and other transactions. This app has also been developed with the help of a team from Accion. The app is a tool that aids in Aye Finance making decisions on loan approvals.
Accion is a global nonprofit venture committed to creating a financially inclusive world. Accion works with more than 110 partners in 50 countries.
A91 Partners is an investment firm and makes early and growth stage investments in consumer, financial services, technology and healthcare sectors in India.