MUMBAI:
The Fintech Meetup’s fifth edition of Fintech Yatra 2023 has so far interacted with over 250 Fintech start-ups across Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad. The city sessions focused on deal identification for the Yatra team while offering valuable feedback, mentoring sessions, etc. to founders through Yatra’s network of senior bankers, angel investors, and venture capitalists.
14 start-ups have been identified given their innovative approach and path-breaking business models and shall now be invited to Yatra’s upcoming cohort. The Fintech Yatra, currently happening in Delhi and expected to conclude in May, will add another 5-8 names to the list. As next steps, the cohort will be closely introduced to Yatra’s network of financial institutions and mentors to improve the product and reduce go-to-market timelines. Subsequently, lead up to a ‘demo day’ with 20+ investors.
Here are some key highlights from the Yatra:
65 Fintech Conversations came from Mumbai.
Bangalore saw a 25% rise in fintech startup growth.
50% are senior financial professionals; 15% are returning home to harness India’s growth potential.
5% were founded by women or had a woman co-founder.
Abhishant Pant, Founder, The Fintech Meetup, and General Partner, YAN Angel Fund, said, “We are thrilled to see the overwhelming response to The Fintech Yatra this year. In light of the recent challenges faced by the fintech industry with regard to downturn in funding, turnout of
founders for Fintech Yatra conversations is a testament to the resilience and creativity of entrepreneurs in this space, and we are confident that the partnerships and innovation opportunities forged at The Fintech Yatra will help founders accelerate their journey.”
“Another trend we have observed is that quite a lot of senior bankers and financial services professionals are starting up after spending over 15 years in financial services,” Pant added. “Interacting with 50+ fintech entrepreneurs in Bangalore was quite a refreshing experience. It was exciting to listen to founders try to solve the problems and fill the white spaces in the financial services industry with a fresh approach. The Fintech Yatra has been an excellent platform for bankers like me to share our experience and knowledge and, simultaneously, learn from founders on their resilience in starting up and aiming to build sustainable organisations by solving genuine problems,” says Ashish Singhal, Former MD & CEO, SVC Bank & Former MD, Experian CIC.
“Fintech as a segment continues to have great potential and remains our core focus area for backing founders. Associating with Fintech Yatra has been a great experience, as founders are thoroughly guided with idea validation, market access, and feedback around venture capital,” says Vidya Sagar, Managing Partner, July Ventures.
The Fintech Yatra, which previously invested in 16 startups including unicorn OneCard and soonicorn M2P fintech, has gathered unprecedented momentum in 2023 with a host of major VCs, such as DMI Sparkle Fund, BEENEXT, Omidyar Network India – Impact Investor, Pentathlon
Ventures, IIFL Fintech Fund, July Ventures, Disruptors Capital, Piper Serica, Eximus Ventures, Inflexor Ventures, and Ideaspring Capital, among others, coming on board for active conversations during the event.
