Binny Bansal invests in gold jewellery-backed lender Rupeek

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Feb 26, 2020

Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has invested in Rupeek, a business that offers loans against gold jewellery and heirlooms. The Bengaluru-based business has raised a total of $60 million from a group of investors.

 
Following substantial growth recently, online business Rupeek Fintech Pvt now counts Bansal as an investor for its next phase of growth, ET Bureau reported. Other investors taking part in the recent funding round included Tanglin Venture Partners-owned, BTB Ventures, and Korea-based business, KB Investment Co. 
 
Following the funding round, the business is valued at around $300 million, a source familiar with the business told Bloomberg. Rupeek will use its new investment to continue to expand its services.

The business currently disburses around $28 million in gold-backed loans per-month, compared to $1.5 million per-month in January, 2019, the firm’s founder and CEO, Sumit Maniyar told Bloomberg.
 
Rupeek counts banks including ICICI Bank and Federal Bank as its lending partners, according to its Facebook page. Considering the shame many Indians may feel about pawning gold jewellery, Rupeek dispatches appraisers to people’s houses to allow them to pursue loans discreetly. 
 
Rupeek has so far expanded its services to cover 10 Indian cities, after launching its gold-back loan service in 2016. The business was first backed by Sequoia Capital and Accel, two Silicon Valley-based venture capital firms.