Pune-based consumer lending fintech EarlySalary has closed its series D funding round of $110 million led by TPG’s The Rise Fund and Norwest Venture Partners. 

Existing investor Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Limited also participated in the round.

This is EarlySalary’s largest fund raise to date, following the company’s last financing round in 2019. The company had raised $34 million in previous rounds from Eight Roads, Chiratae Ventures, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Limited and angel investors. 

The company plans to use latest investment to grow its business significantly in the next 24 months. The series D round of $110 million includes a secondary sale. Unitus Capital acted as the exclusive advisor for the transaction.

“The funding will not only help us in expanding our cash business but also build an array of capabilities to efficiently serve a larger segment of customers. We are confident in our ability to keep innovating and achieving 10-fold large growth in our customer base,” said Akshay Mehrotra, co-founder and CEO, EarlySalary.

“EarlySalary delivers a critical financial service to the growing, yet underserved, middle-income segment in India. By providing modest, short-duration loans at competitive rates, EarlySalary is improving the financial health of its customer base and empowering them to finance things like upskilling courses, healthcare needs, personal emergencies, and short-term cash flow mismatches. Akshay and Ashish have built a world-class team and a market-leading product that is poised to continue to meet the needs of India’s rising middle class and we are delighted to be a part of its next chapter of growth,” added Akshay Tanna, partner at TPG.

The Rise Funds have invested in several financial technology companies that are building a more inclusive financial system around the world including Varo in the US, Duxiaoman in China, and Airtel Money in Africa.

“Digital lending is emerging as one of the fastest growing fintech segments in India and we believe that EarlySalary is well-positioned to serve the credit needs of millions of underserved but aspirational Indians. EarlySalary’s strong growth has been driven by a world-class technology, analytics and governance platform, which has resulted in exceptional credit underwriting and asset quality,” said Niren Shah, MD at Norwest Venture Partners.

Founded in Pune in 2015, EarlySalary provides accessible financial lending solutions of up to Rs 5 lakh to working professionals. The company expanded into the affordability segment and introduced Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services to its customer segment with a clear focus on education, health and consumer product financing. 

Over the course of its journey, the company has rapidly expanded its presence from 18 cities to over 150 cities and increased its customer base to 12 million app downloads with approximately 1 million customers.  It claims to have grown 7 times over the last two years.