New Delhi, Mar 21 (KNN) In a significant development for rural MSME finance, Optimo Loan, led by its Founder Prashant Pitti, has successfully raised USD 10 million in seed funding, with Blume and Omnivore spearheading the investment.

Pitti, who also co-founded travel company EaseMyTrip, introduced the lending platform in July last year, with operations commencing in November.

Expressing confidence in Optimo's growth trajectory, Pitti highlighted the company's prudent yet swift scaling approach, emphasising an asset-light model leveraging co-lending agreements with banks and larger NBFCs.

Optimo aims to address the substantial USD 530 billion credit gap in MSME lending by facilitating credit access in rural India through a collaborative co-lending model.

The funding infusion will fuel Optimo's expansion efforts, focusing on enhancing technology, talent acquisition, and establishing a presence in twenty rural locations by year-end, as per a statement from the company.

Ashish Fafadia, Partner at Blume Ventures, underscored the importance of democratising finance for rural MSMEs, noting their significant contribution to India's GDP.

“To achieve the ambitious goal of elevating this contribution from 4 to 15 trillion over the next 15-20 years, it’s imperative to explore more effective collaboration avenues,” Fafadia added.

Optimo offers a range of financial solutions including working capital, equipment financing, and invoice financing, with repayment terms spanning 12 to 24 months.

Notably, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have witnessed a surge in MSME lending, indicating a preference shift among small businesses for credit access.

(KNN Bureau)