This is the 15th post of my Blogchatter’s #BlogchatterA2ZChallenge. By now, I have covered multiple fintech platforms thriving in our country. India is a home to 2500 fintech startups. Therefore, if the core proposition that you offer is limited to what others are doing, you are bound to perish. Indian fintech ecosystem is no longer , just catering to gaps in the processes. Rather, market is looking forward to something that can bundle multiple services together in a single window and hence, solve multiple problems together.
Today, we discuss about one such platform, Ofbusiness. Found in 2015, this fintech is headquartered at Gurgaon, Haryana. The company is a whisker short of a unicorn status and is currently valued at $800mn. The latest funding round was a week ago where they raised $110mn. As per an article in the ET, Ofbusiness is expected to launch it’s IPO as well in the coming two years.
What is the driving force of this fintech?
“In our mission of serving businesses who are core to nation-building, we have attained strong growth with profitability even through these uncertain periods,” Asish Mohapatra (CEO Ofbusiness) said. “We have an unwavering belief in the potential of commerce and financing in the B2B landscape and our vision is to just keep doing more of what we have done so far.”
Ofbusiness’ Proposition
Ofbusiness operates in the lending tech arm of the fintech industry and extends loans to small and medium enterprises. The loan they extend is unsecured i.e. collateral free. A loan of up to 2crores can be extended to the businesses after an evaluation by underwriters. The startup focuses on manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. For availing the services of Ofbusiness, one may chose to visit their website.
But what is so unique about this platform you ask? This is done by most of the platforms out there right? So, here goes. Ofbusiness is not only a lending platform. They call themselves India’s first financing and procurement platform. So, not only you can access capital for your business from them, you can also source raw material at a competitive price. However, you are not restricted to purchase from their platform alone. Also, the borrowed money can be used for buying machinery and equipment as well.
Features of the Product:
Ofbusiness, like other competitors in this space, provide quick, paperless loans. These loans are processed within 3 days. What they actually offer is a line of credit rather than a loan. You can use any amount from the overall limit allocated to you and you would be charged interest basis the used amount and number of days used only. There is no prepayment charges (foreclosure of loan).
The platform is capable of aggregating the raw material requirement from multiple clients and hence negotiate with suppliers for the best rates in lieu of a bulk order. As a business owner, you can also compare multiple quotes and negotiate yourself with the supplier.
Thirdly, once the deal between supplier and the buyer is sealed, Ofbusiness also facilitates the logistics. They would ensure that all deliveries happen as expected. You can even track your orders on the Ofbusiness mobile app.
Conclusion:
Yet again, a fintech platform is spearheading the mission of financial inclusion in our country. SMEs find it really hard to fund their upcoming opportunity because they do not have access to capital or best prices just because of their small size. And Ofbusiness plans to change this. Also, did I tell you that one of the Co-Founders of the business is Ruchi Kalra. Here’s an interview clipping I found online where she talks about how more woman should be a part of fintech ecosystem:
What is your viewpoint on organizations like these?
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Until next time..
