Propelld Secures $25M Debt for NBFC Subsidiary Edgro:
Propelld, an education-focused lending platform, has secured $25 million in debt financing for its wholly-owned NBFC subsidiary, Edgro.
Edgro raised the funds from nine lenders, including Credit Saison India Private Limited, AU Small Finance Bank, InCred Financial Services Limited, and Northern Arc Capital Limited. The company plans to use the funds to expand its reach and offerings.
Founded in 2019 by Bibhu Prasad Das, Victor Senapaty, and Brijesh Samantaray, Propelld provides education loan financing solutions through Study Now and Pay Later products as well as Income Sharing Agreements (ISA) via the NBFC arm. The company also offers collateral-free education financing. Propelld targets tier II and III cities where students often face challenges securing financing from accredited lenders.
Although Edgro started operations in July 2023, the company has already raised nearly $40 million from investors such as WestBridge Capital, Stellaris Venture Partners, and India Quotient. Its last fundraising round amounted to $35 million in February 2022. As of the last funding round, Propelld had an annual loan disbursal run rate of Rs 600 crore.
Propelld saw its operating revenue more than double to Rs 75 crore in FY23 from Rs 33 crore in FY22. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, the firm’s losses also surged over fourfold to Rs 26.72 crore in FY23 from Rs 5.96 crore the previous year.
The company competes with companies like Leap Finance, Financepeer, GrayQuest, Eduvanz, Auxilo, MPower Financing, and Credenc. These competitors have also secured significant funding over the past three years. Leap Finance raised $75 million in June 2022, while Credenc secured $25 million from Capital India in July 2021. Eduvanz raised $12 million in December 2022, and GrayQuest and MPower Finance obtained $7 million and $150 million, respectively, in 2023. Earlier this year, Auxilo also raised $6 million in debt.
