Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Avail Finance, a Bengaluru-based consumer lending startup has collaborated with ride-hailing unicorn Ola to build financial solutions for 1.5 million Ola driver partners. The on-demand ride providing service company will make a strategic investment in Avail Finance in its Series A round of funding.

With this, customised financial solutions for Ola driver partners will include micro-savings and micro-insurance products.

“We are excited to join hands with Ola at this stage of our journey. We are energised about this partnership and the opportunity to serve Ola’s large base of driver-partners. This strategic partnership will further help us expand our offerings to a large, growing base of users with very unique needs,” Ankush Aggarwal, founder, Avail Finance said.

Founded in 2017 by Aggarwal and Tushar Mehndiratta, Avail Finance is an online lending platform that provides short term loans to the blue collar workforce in India, including gig workers such as cab drivers and delivery boys. The company offers loans only to people earning less than ₹35,000.

The company claims to have close to a million registered users through its various offerings and have processed requests of over $50 Mn.

While, Ola, Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati-led was founded in December 2010 as an online cab services in Mumbai. It is an online transportation network company developed by ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. The company has been expanding its horizons with focus on credit over the last few years.

Puneet Bhirani, COO, Ola said, “Avail’s innovative portfolio of new-age financial solutions are very relevant for Ola’s large and growing base of driver-partners. We are constantly looking at ways to enhance their quality of life and we see this partnership with Avail, helping our partners with access to financial offerings that are tailored to their needs.”

Further on, a BCG report has predicted that the digital lending industry will touch $1 trillion mark in the next five years.

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