Lendingkart acquires Upwards for Rs 100 cr

Upwards, founded in 2017, offers personal loans to salaried professionals courtesy a proprietary technology platform offering automated loan underwriting and disbursement process, while Lendingkart is a small-business focused lender specializing in working capital loans space.

Fintech firm Lendingkart on Wednesday announced that it has acquired digital lending platform 'Upwards' for Rs 100 crore. Upwards, founded in 2017, offers personal loans to salaried professionals courtesy a proprietary technology platform offering automated loan underwriting and disbursement process, while Lendingkart is a small-business focused lender specializing in working capital loans space. Harshvardhan Lunia, the chief executive and founder of Lendingkart, which has raised over Rs 1,050 crore from external investors since its 2014 founding, said the acquisition aligns its mission of providing finance to the underserved through robust technology. "With this partnership, Upwards will be aptly positioned to execute its strategy of helping customers smoothly obtain personal loans," he said. Upwards' credit underwriting engine uses complex algorithms to analyse more than 500 data points to maintain superior credit quality, according to the statement.

"With Lendingkart's credit, capital and distribution capability, we plan to deepen our presence across the country to bridge the massive credit gap in the personal loan market in India," Upwards' co-founder Abhishek Soni said.