BENGALURU: Financial services platform WeRize, which focuses on small cities, aims to reach a $100 million revenue run rate in the next two years, and expects to double it- $200 million by the end of 2025.
The start-up has so far raised $10.25 million, including the latest Series A funding round, led by 3one4 Capital and Kalaari Capital, among others.
Started by former Lendingkart executives Himanshu Gupta and Vishal Chopra, the start-up is already operationally profitable. “Our annualised gross revenue run rate is $9 million. We are doubling our revenues every six months,” Vishal Chopra, Co-founder and CEO, WeRize said. Most of its customers - who earn between Rs 15,000 and Rs 30,000 a month- are from small cities and do not have access to financial services such as credit, insurance and wealth offerings.
“Private sector banks would not engage with them given their focus on higher income customers in large cities. Our products are designed for customers who are living in small cities,” said Chopra. One of the biggest challenges that this segment - almost 50 to 60 crore people across India including earners and family members - faces is their inability to get loans, he added. The start-up’s focus is on middle and lower middle-income households in tier-2 to tier-4 cities such as Ludhiana, Surat and Salem.