Getty ImagesNEW DELHI: PayU and Fosun International are closing in on a $10 million (about Rs 71 crore) equity financing round in DotPe, the fintech startup founded by Shailaz Nag, a former managing director at the Naspers-owned fintech major.
According to multiple sources briefed on the developments, the financing round, which is the first one for DotPe, could also see Info Edge, which owns India’s largest jobs portal Naukri, join the startup’s investor cap table.
Additionally, a number of high-profile angel investors are also expected to pump money into the company. ET, however, was unable to ascertain the names of the investors in talks with the company.
The round is expected to close over the next few weeks, the sources indicated.
When contacted by ET, a PayU India spokesperson declined to comment, while emails sent to Nag, Fosun India head Tej Kapoor and Info Edge chief executive Hitesh Oberoi did not elicit any response till the time of going to press.
The investment in DotPe by PayU will also mark a rare instance of a major corporate investing in a former employee’s venture.
Nag, a chartered accountant and who also holds an MBA degree, held the co-founder tag at PayU India, and led its payments business in India, having spent over eight years at the company, for which India is a core market.
Prior to joining PayU, Nag was also a founding member at travel and hospitality Ibibo Group, which was later acquired by MakeMyTrip, India’s largest online travel operator, in 2016.
DotPe, which is a digital platform for offline retail merchants, will be the latest instance of a venture started by a well-known entrepreneur, particularly those operating in the broader fin-tech space, and which has managed to raise a substantial amount of capital, while still largely in stealth mode.
Both, Ashish Kashyap, who had founded Ibibo Group, and Kunal Shah, founder of digital payments platform FreeCharge, had raised $30 million and $25 million from a clutch of marquee institutional investors, such as Steadview Capital, Sequoia Capital and Ribbit Capital, for their second ventures, INDWealth and Cred, respectively.
Nag, who put in his papers at PayU India in July this year, was part of major top-level exodus earlier this year, which also saw Jitendra Gupta, also a managing director at the $2.5 billion Naspers-owned fintech company, resign to set up his own venture.
India has emerged as the fastest growing market for PayU globally, and accounts for almost half of the volumes processed by it. According to Naspers’ latest annual report, PayU processed $30 billion in volume terms, on more than 920 million transactions.
According to multiple sources briefed on the developments, the financing round, which is the first one for DotPe, could also see Info Edge, which owns India’s largest jobs portal Naukri, join the startup’s investor cap table.
Additionally, a number of high-profile angel investors are also expected to pump money into the company. ET, however, was unable to ascertain the names of the investors in talks with the company.
The round is expected to close over the next few weeks, the sources indicated.
When contacted by ET, a PayU India spokesperson declined to comment, while emails sent to Nag, Fosun India head Tej Kapoor and Info Edge chief executive Hitesh Oberoi did not elicit any response till the time of going to press.
The investment in DotPe by PayU will also mark a rare instance of a major corporate investing in a former employee’s venture.
Nag, a chartered accountant and who also holds an MBA degree, held the co-founder tag at PayU India, and led its payments business in India, having spent over eight years at the company, for which India is a core market.
Prior to joining PayU, Nag was also a founding member at travel and hospitality Ibibo Group, which was later acquired by MakeMyTrip, India’s largest online travel operator, in 2016.
DotPe, which is a digital platform for offline retail merchants, will be the latest instance of a venture started by a well-known entrepreneur, particularly those operating in the broader fin-tech space, and which has managed to raise a substantial amount of capital, while still largely in stealth mode.
Both, Ashish Kashyap, who had founded Ibibo Group, and Kunal Shah, founder of digital payments platform FreeCharge, had raised $30 million and $25 million from a clutch of marquee institutional investors, such as Steadview Capital, Sequoia Capital and Ribbit Capital, for their second ventures, INDWealth and Cred, respectively.
Nag, who put in his papers at PayU India in July this year, was part of major top-level exodus earlier this year, which also saw Jitendra Gupta, also a managing director at the $2.5 billion Naspers-owned fintech company, resign to set up his own venture.
India has emerged as the fastest growing market for PayU globally, and accounts for almost half of the volumes processed by it. According to Naspers’ latest annual report, PayU processed $30 billion in volume terms, on more than 920 million transactions.
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