ZestMoney raises $20 million in fresh round

BENGALURU: Bengaluru-based digital lending startup ZestMoney has raised $20 million in fresh funding led by Washington DC-headquartered fintech investor Quona Capital, as the consumer lending space in India gains traction with the imminent entry of giants such as Walmart-owned Flipkart.
ZestMoney said it would utilise the capital to broaden its technology focus.The lending startup will also double its headcount of 60 engineers and 20 data scientists in the next twelve months and deepen integration with partner NBFCs and online retailers with whom it offers EMI options to customers.
The funding round also saw participation from Australian fintech investor Reinventure, along with existing backers Ribbit Capital, Omidyar Network and PayU.
“Quona and Reinventure are both specialist fintech venture funds. There’s definitely a lot of momentum in our space right now, with everyone in e-commerce talking about affordability through EMI and we’re just riding off the back of that,” said Lizzie Chapman, cofounder of ZestMoney.