So many of us have been rejected for loans from banks or non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), citing lack or unavailability of credit rating. What if you are a small entrepreneur with bigger dreams, or a recent graduate trying to buy a bike? Your digital footprint could well be your credit-worthy fingerprint. How?
Say hello to LoanMeet !
Loanmeet is a Peer-to-Peer lending platform that both borrower and lenders can trust. This Bangalore-based fintech startup was founded in 2015 by Sunil Kumar (CEO and Co-Founder).
To bridge the gap of unavailability of formal credit points and understanding the untapped potential of this bridging this gap, LoanMeet came into existence.The concept is basically an individual, who is not a financial institution, lending money to another individual. On this platform, lenders and borrowers come together to complete a loan transaction.
“I started thinking of this business idea when I gave a small loan to a fruit seller so that he could scale up his business to some extent,” says Loan Meet’s Co-founder, Sunil Kumar, who is an alumni of IIT Bombay.
On LoanMeet, borrowers have to pay a reasonable rate of interest and the lenders earn more than the FD and Post Office Savings. It is a win-win situation for both the parties. On LoanMeet, the online loan application is a 5-Minute minute process, with interest rates as low as 15 % (APR). The timely loan disbursal which a limited 2 to 5 days period adds the cherry on top of the cake. As for the Lenders, individual investor returns come around 20% with investment spread across multiple loans which gives better returns and low defaults as compared to fixed deposits, mutual funds, and other investment options. Less paperwork, flexible policies and transparency are pillars of Loanmeet.
As of today, Loanmeet has completed more than 100+ loan transactions and disbursed a total amount of 1.5 crores, which helped many small scale businesses grow. “Our motive was not to make huge money out of it, but it was to help people get money in the time of need. This is mutually beneficial to both lender and the borrower. I personally believe that everyone should be given an opportunity to grow. We need to emphasise more on the societal development and just start believing in the businesses around us” added Sunil who has prior work experience of 14 years, and has worked at the Federal Home Loan Bank, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Currently, LoanMeet has 3600 active Borrowers and 523 active Lenders and are rapidly growing at a rate of 10% MoM. Validating their business model, the company has disbursed loans of 1.5crores as of now and hopes to reach up to 15 crores by the end of this financial year.
