Sub-K, a unit of India’s BASIX Social Enterprise Group, recently secured an equity investment of INR 750 million (USD 10.6 million) from Maj Invest, an asset manager based in Denmark. Sub-K is a financial technology (fintech) company that acts as an intermediary between financial institutions and their individual and microenterprise customers. It delivers lending, saving and payment services by “recruiting, training and equipping local entrepreneurs as Business Correspondent agents who serve as human ATMs [automated teller machines]”. The new funding is earmarked for “product innovation and strengthening the IT [information technology] platform.” The firm’s customers include 14 banks and nine payment service providers.
David Paradiso, the Managing Director of Maj Invest India, said, “We are excited to work alongside the promoters, co-investors and management to continue providing top-class financial service while looking to create real social impact in the regions we serve.”
The name Sub-K derives from the words “‘for everyone’ in Hindi language and below ‘one thousand’ in English, indicating touch points within 1,000 meters distance, offering transactions of less than INR 1,000 (USD 14), providing access to less than 1,000 households at a cost of 1,000 paisa (USD 0.14).” Founded in 2010, the firm has 3 million customers in 26 states and a loan portfolio of INR 8 billion (USD 113 million).
BASIX, which is named for its Bhartiya Samruddhi Investments and Consulting Services unit, has operations in financial services, education, agricultural services, consulting and waste management.
Founded in 2004, Maj Invest has operations in seven countries. As of 2018, it reported total assets of DKK 666 million (USD 99 million).
Sources and Additional Resources
Economic Times article
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/sub-k-raises-rs-75-crore-funding-from-denmarks-maj-invest/articleshow/71503789.cms
Sub-K homepage
https://subk.co.in
BASIX homepage
http://basixindia.com
Maj homepage
https://majinvest.com
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