BharatPe raises Rs 200 cr in debt from IIFL Wealth, Northern Arc

BharatPe on Thursday said it has raised Rs 100 crore each in debt from IIFL Wealth and Asset Management, and Northern Arc Capital. This is the seventh round of debt funding for the company. BharatPe has raised a total of over Rs 500 crore (about $70 million) in debt at competitive rates, in the year 2021, a statement said.

It plans to raise $250 million in debt by the end of FY22, it added.

Earlier this year, BharatPe had raised over Rs 300 crore from venture debt funds (Alteria Capital, InnoVen Capital and Trifecta Capital), banks (ICICI Bank and Axis Bank) and NBFC (Northern Arc Capital).

“BharatPe’s lending vertical has grown exponentially over the last 1.5 years. BharatPe has already disbursed over $300 million in unsecured loans to over 2 lakh merchant partners and has an outstanding loan book of over $100 million,” it said.

Suhail Sameer, chief executive officer of BharatPe, said the company has witnessed a surge in demand for merchant loans, with multi-fold growth over the last one year.

“With the festive season coming up soon, we are committed to scaling our lending vertical aggressively and have set a target of 10x growth in lending by FY23. It is a matter of pride for us that top wholesale lenders in the country have joined us in our journey to serve the credit needs of the underserved,” he added.