Fintech NBFC Techfino raises Rs 65 cr from Stellaris, Saison Capital to double down on secured MSME lending

[L-R] Ratikant Satapathy, Jayaprakash Patra, Rajesh Panda, Co-founders, Techfino

Bengaluru-based NBFC fintech Techfino has raised Rs 65 crore in fresh equity funding from Stellaris Venture Partners and Saison Capital, the venture arm of Tokyo-listed Credit Saison, to expand its secured lending business for underserved micro and small enterprises across India.

The funding will be used to double Techfino’s branch network from 30 to 60 branches in the next 12 months, expand its team, and strengthen its proprietary technology platform built to assess credit risk in Bharat’s semi-urban corridors.

“We’ve been profitable since our first full year of operations, and our core strength has been a tight grip on asset quality,” said Rajesh Panda, Co-founder of Techfino. “This fundraise is purely equity and will be used to drive growth through branch-led expansion and people hiring, especially for our MSME loan against property business.”

Founded in 2019 by Rajesh Panda (former Standard Chartered), Jayaprakash Patra (former ICICI, ING), and Ratikant Satapathy (former Bajaj Finance), Techfino operates two business verticals: unsecured education loans through a B2B2C model, and a secured MSME lending business. While the education business remains steady, the company is now focused on scaling up secured disbursements.

“We’ve already crossed Rs 100 crore AUM in secured loans and are disbursing over Rs 10 crore every month. With this funding, we expect to double that monthly run-rate,” said Panda.

Techfino provides Loan Against Property (LAP) to small businesses like kirana shops, dairy entrepreneurs, village traders in Tier 2 and 3 cities across Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. The average loan ticket size ranges from Rs 8–12 lakh, with household income underwriting tailored to informal-sector borrowers.

“Our typical borrower may be running a small grocery store while another family member works in a private firm. We assess household income holistically and build region-specific underwriting scorecards,” explained Satapathy, highlighting their granular approach.

As per the team, what differentiates the NBFC is its in-house tech stack, built from scratch to streamline risk assessment and disbursal. The platform integrates multiple APIs for bank statement analysis, property verification, and legal diligence reducing turnaround time (TAT) and improving accuracy.

“We’ve built proprietary scorecards for property, bureau, and banking data and have embedded legal checks into the system. This allows us to underwrite rural borrowers with the same speed and precision as urban fintechs,” said Satapathy.

The company has already disbursed over 1 lakh loans across both verticals and now commands a total AUM of Rs 200 crore.

Investor Stellaris believes this approach unlocks a massive untapped opportunity. “Techfino has demonstrated that it is possible to build a high-quality, profitable lending business in this otherwise risky segment with strong underwriting and tech-enablement,” said Ritesh Banglani, Partner at Stellaris Venture Partners. “The formalisation of small businesses via UPI and GST is paving the way for scalable, tech-led MSME lending.”

While the unsecured education vertical, partnering with over 100 institutions like Manipal and Amity, continues to operate profitably, the company says the capital intensity is now shifting towards the secured side.

“Education lending will continue at a steady pace, but we see humongous growth ahead in MSME LAP. That’s where we’re doubling down,” said Panda. With strong bank partnerships for liabilities and a focus on suburban and rural expansion, Techfino expects to close FY26 with a robust secured loan book and sustainable profitability.