Pune-Based Vayana Levels Up with NBFC Status from RBI
Supply chain finance firm Vayana, based out of Pune, has been granted a non-banking finance company (NBFC) licence by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), looking to make its mark in the lending segment. The firm is now reportedly looking to raise another $20 million to power its NBFC business and establish its presence in the market, according to sources.
This achievement positions Vayana alongside fintech contenders like Jupiter and Cred, which have also received lending licences from the central bank. Whereas Jupiter's parent firm, Amica Financial, received its NBFC licence in April 2023, Cred entered the lending space via its acquisition of Parfait Finance in 2021. Compared to that, startups such as Uni Card and One Card received their NBFC applications back from the RBI, marking a regulatory barrier in the industry.
Vayana's new funding round should be headed by SMBC Asia Rising Fund, which had also headed the firm's $20 million raise in August 2023. "This will be an extension of the earlier round. The second tranche of funding was subject to the NBFC licence approval. Now that the licence is available, the infusion will occur", said a person in the know. Vayana is also seeking new investors to participate in the round, although talks are ongoing.
Started by Ramaswamy Iyer in 2017, Vayana provides invoice discounting and trade financing to small enterprises from industries like FMCG and automotive. The company says it facilitates $1 billion of financing per month through 3,000 supply chains, supporting more than 300,000 businesses. So far, Vayana has raised around $89 million, with support from companies such as Chiratae Ventures, Jungle Ventures, and Marshall Wace. The valuation of the company was at $235 million as of September 2024, as per Tracxn data.
So far, Vayana has been an aggregator platform, linking customers with banks and other NBFCs. The new licence provides opportunities for co-lending alliances with bigger lenders, enabling Vayana to assume a portion of the loan exposure. "With the regulatory environment becoming more stringent, RBI wants banks and NBFCs to partner with licensed fintechs through deep partnerships. Vayana's NBFC status gives that extra layer of credibility", said an industry expert.
Securing the licence is particularly significant given the RBI’s increasingly stringent oversight of the shadow banking sector. In recent years, the regulator has imposed stricter requirements for new NBFC applicants, making it more challenging to gain approval. “Getting this licence in such a tough regulatory environment is a big win for Vayana and for the supply chain finance sector, which needs more tech-driven solutions”, said a senior fintech executive.
The news arrives in the context of a wider regulatory drive to upgrade credit flows to small businesses. Interestingly, other fintech companies such as PayU-backed Mintifi and Peak XV Partners-backed ProgCap are also engaged in supply chain financing. Meanwhile, KredX has recently obtained a Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) licence from the RBI, highlighting the increasing momentum in technology-enabled trade finance.
With its NBFC licence in place and new funding in the pipeline, Vayana is well-placed to become a key driver of change in supply chain financing in India. The firm's capacity to marry technology with in-depth industry knowledge may position it as a key growth enabler for small businesses, enabling them to access more flexible and faster financing options in a changing digital economy.
Questions emailed to Vayana and SMBC Asia Rising Fund were still unresponded as of publication time. But the industry players continue to believe that Vayana's latest initiative will trigger more innovation and induce more financial inclusion in India's supply chain economy.
