Chennai based fintech startup, Finwego has raised $1.7 million from SAIF Partners along with a group of high net worth individuals (HNIs) and angels in a fresh round of funding. The startup will use the funds for expansion, growing a profitable book and strengthening their tech and data infrastructure.
The company which was incubated at the Harvard Innovation Labs also plans to apply for an NBFC (non-banking financial company) license. Currently operational across key markets in Tamil Nadu the company will soon be starting operations in other Indian states.
Founded in December 2018, Finwego caters to school management, parents, teachers, and vendors and acts as a one-stop-shop for all their financial needs. The firm in the last six months has on-boarded 200 plus schools and is planning to expand to over 1,000 schools by end of this financial year.
Shiv Vadivelalagan, co-founder and CEO of Finwego, said that with geographic expansion on the cards, Finwego will be focusing on developing innovative products that are highly relevant for their target group. “The plan is to reach out to 10,000 plus schools over the next five years,” he added.
According to Mr. Vadivelalagan, currently, there are 3,50,000 private schools in India that educate about 40% of the school going students in India, which are roughly 100 million students. “We expect this number to grow as more parents prefer private school education,” he said.
Mridul Arora, MD, SAIF Partners said, “We believe that Finwego can positively contribute to the private school education ecosystem in India while building a profitable business.”
SAIF Partners is a venture capital firm that provides seed, early, and growth stage capital for emerging companies in India and China. SAIF began partnering with entrepreneurs in India in 2002 and has backed various companies since then including MakeMyTrip, JustDial, PayTM , BookMyShow, Swiggy and ShareChat among others.
