Prosus invests $80 million in supply-chain financing company Mintifi

With Mintifi’s services, a distributor can procure inventory but pay later.

Prosus has pumped in $80 million (around Rs 680 crore) and picked up more than 10 percent stake in Mintifi, a supply-chain financing startup in India, the investor said in its half-yearly disclosure on December 2.

"In October 2024, the group acquired a 10.65% effective interest in Mintifi Private Limited (Mintifi) for approximately US$79.9 million. Mintifi is a leading supply chain finance fintech in India," the investor said in its regulatory filings.

"The group will account for this investment as an equity-accounted associate on account of its significant influence on the board of directors."

Moneycontrol was the first to write about at least 20 investors, including giants such as Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), private equity giants like Bain Capital and Advent International, chasing Mintifi to participate in its $100 million round. The round is still ongoing and may stretch further.

Mintifi works with large companies such as Tata Motors, Nivea and  Page Industries, which is the exclusive licensee for Jockey in India, to digitise their supply chain and extend credit to stakeholders, including distributors and retailers. With Mintifi’s services, a distributor can procure inventory but pay later.

The fresh funding comes after Mintifi raised $110 million in March 2023, led by Premji Invest. The round also saw participation from existing backers such as Norwest Venture Partners, Elevation Capital and International Finance Corporation (IFC).

While the company is yet to file its FY24 results, the startup turned profitable in FY23 after recording a net profit of Rs 25 crore on a revenue of Rs 227 crore, the latest data available on Tracxn, a private markets data provider, shows.

It is a significant improvement in financials from a top line of Rs 60 crore and a loss of Rs 1 crore in FY22.

Mintifi's financial metrics will only improve as the company's base of corporate partners increases from 150 to more than 200 and beyond.

On a monthly basis, it was reportedly disbursing around $100 million in credit and was on track to increase the size to about $400 million sometime this year, growing its loan book to over $1 billion in size.

Founded in 2017 by Anup Agarwal, Ankit Mehta and Sanjoy Shome, Mintifi, which has raised around $170 million so far, competes with KredX, Oxyzo, FinAGG, Cashflo, Cashinvoice, Vayana and Credable in the invoice discounting space and with InCred, Lendingkart and NeoGrowth, Flexiloan, Indifi and others in the business working capital loan segment.

The company also offers working capital loans and other financing solutions like term loans, overdraft facilities, supply chain financing and bill discounting limits to SMEs.

Its offerings include a credit line of up to Rs 2 crore to businesses that are looking to buy inventory directly from brands/distributors. Mintifi also offers collateral-free business loans up to Rs 50 lakh, as per the firm’s website.

The firm, which houses NBFC Mintifi Finserve Private Limited, offers credit via its own books in partnership with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, Fullerton India and Muthoot Finance.