Two FinTech start-ups, Shiksha Finance and Catalyst Labs, have been selected by the peers in December to receive $50,000 each in investment from Village Capital and co-investment partner Asha Impact.
The selection marks the end of a three-month accelerator program, VilCap FinTech India 2015, run by Village Capital in partnership with the DBS Foundation and Paypal, Village Capital said in a press release.
The ventures were selected from a pool of 11 early-stage FinTech businesses focused on the intersection of financial inclusion and technology.
Chennai-based Shiksha Finance is a finance company that provides student education loans and loans to educational institutions for asset creation and infrastructure. Bengaluru-based Catalyst Labs securely connects bulk produce buyers to farmer groups and producer organisations.
“We’re excited to back entrepreneurs, who are improving the way people in India interact with financial services everyday. Village Capital and our partners are thrilled to have created an ecosystem for entrepreneurs solving problems in education, such as Shiksha Finance, and agriculture, such as Catalyst Labs,” said Ross Baird, Executive Director, Village Capital.
“VilCap provided us valuable experience and lessons. The programme provided interactions with other entrepreneurs as well as wonderful insights on how we can use technology in our business,” said VL Ramakrishnan, CEO, Shiksha Finance.
Village Capital sources, trains and invests in seed — stage entrepreneurs with business solutions to major global problems.
Village Capital recruits entrepreneurs solving specific problems in agriculture, energy, education, financial inclusion, and health, and then award the prize investments to the two ventures ranked highest by their peers at the end of every programme.
