Ishita Verma Co-led Fintech Startup Klub receives $20mn from Existing & New Investors

By: WE Staff | Wednesday, 18 August 2021

Klub, a revenue-based financing platform, announced the receipt of USD 20 million (approximately Rs 148.5 crore) in funding from existing investors 9Unicorns and Surge, Sequoia Capital India's rapid scale-up programme. According to a statement, Alter Global (US) and GMO VenturePartners (Japan) also participated in the funding round as new investors.

Over the next few quarters, the company plans to invest Rs 500 crore in local brands and digital SMEs.

Revenue-based financing is a type of financing in which the investor receives a regular share of the company's profits.

Klub, founded by Anurakt Jain and Ishita Verma, provides flexible growth capital ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 30 crore with no equity dilution. It provides recurring marketing, inventory, and capex funding to digital-first companies and SMEs in e-commerce, D2C, ed-tech, SaaS, and the broader digital commerce spectrum, leveraging data-driven analytics to drive faster funding decisions.

Ishita Verma has 9 years of experience in early stage investment banking, investing, trade finance, and public/private equity markets. She previously led the financial services practise at Unitus Capital and worked in the PIPE practise at Kotak Institutional Equities.

Klub is a fintech company that invests in high-affinity brands to help them grow. Klub's investment platform, which combines financial innovation, community engagement, and deep data-driven analytics, gives well-known brand entrepreneurs a stake in growth capital. With offices in Singapore and India, the startup is currently in stealth mode.

The current seed round, which included participation from marquee global angels, includes a majority portion of equity and capital commitments to the platform, according to the statement.

According to the company, Surge and several angel investors previously led a USD 2 million pre-seed round at the idea stage.

According to the company, Klub plans to use the funds to expand its team, accelerate the development of its technology and data platform, and expand its product offerings and market segments.

Anurakt Jain, co-founder and CEO of Klub, believes that India's digital revolution has levelled the playing field for local businesses.

"India's digital commerce ecosystem requires more than 'one size fits all' financing, and with this round, we can further our mission of enabling growth for loved brands," Jain added.