Mortgagetech Startup Easy Raises $15 Mn In Series A Led By Indian PE Xponentia Capital And Global Investors The company plans to deploy $150 million over the next 24 months
By Prabhjeet Bhatla •
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Mortgagetech startup Easy on Thursday announced that it has raised $15 million as part of its Series A funding round. The round led by Xponentia Capital partners saw participation from global VC funds — existing investor Harbourfront Capital, Finsight VC, RaSa Future Fund, Navida Capital AB, Helena Wasserman Eriksson, and Integra Software.
Founded in August 2018 by seasoned entrepreneur and investor Rohit Chokhani, Easy had earlier raised an undisclosed amount from Harbourfront Capital in August 2019.
"A consumer has to jump multiple hoops to get a home loan. In order to offer a mortgage on the mobile solution, we must first understand the income, assets, credit, and property. The Traditional way would be filling out multiple forms and answering questions to figure out these variables, but we use data to understand our customers better. We have developed an in-house property intelligence tech combined with credit tech we are able to deliver a seamless consumer experience within minutes and not days. We have seen our fastest client from origination to moving-in the property in two days," said Rohit Chokhani, founder and director, Easy.
Easy aims to achieve $150 million assets under management over the next 24 months and will expand its network to more than 100 locations across the country. The company is backed by more than a dozen banks and financial institutions.
"Mortgage is the most important financing decision for any family. Customers of Easy can focus on things that matter and not worry about drudgery and paperwork. Buying a house is what it should be - a delightful experience. We are excited to partner with Rohit and the entire team in their journey to digitize the mortgage industry," commented PR Srinivasan, managing partner, Xponentia Capital Partners LLP.
"Homeownership is probably the most vivid demonstration of what private property is. This, in turn, acts as a foundation for all social and economic developments the Indian government started recently. We believe Easy appears with the right product at the right time. We see the unprecedented demand for affordable housing fuelled by India's growing urbanization and government initiatives like PMAY. At the same time, the lower-income group segment was always considered to be the hardest for financial institutions. This is where technology comes to bring operating efficiency in the segment and superior customer experience. We believe that, with the help of tech, Easy can become an essential element in the capital chain aimed to solve the housing challenge in India," shared Alexey Garyunov, general partner, Finsight Ventures.
Easy is a mortgage tech company providing mortgages on mobile to underserved consumers. It operates across geographies in a phygital model and provides instant decisioning on home loans. Easy provides fully insured home loans to consumers which protects vulnerability in situations like COVID-19. The venture is focused on measuring Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) Impact proactively.
"Analyzing Easy's progress since the first participation in their Seed round, we gained the conviction to follow on in this round. We believe their reliable solution for homeownership makes a direct, positive impact on the social determinants of people's lives, including access to education and job training, health care, and other economic opportunities. We are truly happy to get involved with their mission on supporting homeowners to have decent affordable housing for a stable and healthy life," added Shinji Kimura, founder, Harbourfront Capital.
Despite the large size of the mortgages market in India, Mortgages constitute only 10 per cent of the GDP and space isn't digitalized. Originating, processing, and underwriting a home loan with a large bank lender still requires heaps of paperwork and multiple physical visits to a branch. Mortgagetech has been an emerging segment in the US with several unicorns, and this market is at a nascent stage in India, thus providing Easy with a first-mover advantage.
