Although, there is still a huge gap for small retail investors looking to monetise their securities and mutual funds. The only option for them is to sell these investments. Furthermore, these borrowers are exploited by digital lending apps charging exorbitant interest rates in order to avail an instant loan. 

Founded by Aditya and Darpan, 50Fin is India's first mobile platform that provides Loans Against Securities and Mutual Funds at just 1% per month. They reward Indian investors with low interest credit products and allow its users to monetise their assets.The application enables a user to maximise the potential of their portfolio and unlock new financial opportunities. It comes with the benefit of zero physical touch-points between a user and NBFC, all-in App Loan Management and quick loan disbursal within 24-hrs. 

50Fin is led by two purpose driven entrepreneurs. Aditya, a passionate economist, double majored in Econometrics and Public Policy at Purdue University, before pursuing his Master’s from Babson College. In 2020, he launched his investment firm, A.S and Chang Investments, which raised a micro-fund from international and domestic investors to buy private securities during the pandemic. 11 months after picking a 1% stake in a hospitality startup, which went on to be Forbes 30U30 Asia class of 22, he exited his investment in order to start 50Fin. He leads 50Fin's efforts in finance, business operations and compliance

Darpan, a Computer Science Graduate from Purdue University, has long been interested in how data structures and algorithms interact. He worked as a teaching assistant and researcher at Purdue University and later as a product developer at Leasera where he led the team in building a payment gateway that decreased the company's liability by 30%. In 2022, he co-founded 50Fin and currently leads the developer team as CTPO focusing on building the company's innovative loan maintenance logic.

Market Opportunity

India has a large population with a growing middle class, and a significant portion of the population is investing in various forms of securities, such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. As per the Reserve bank of India (RBI) data, The total investment in mutual funds in India was around Rs. 26 lakh crore (2600 billion) as of March 2021, and the number of demat accounts, which is where shares of publicly traded companies are held in electronic form, was around 42 crore (420 million) as of December 2020. This has created a need for financial products that allow individuals to leverage their securities as collateral to obtain loans.

100X.VC Thesis

India is a credit starved nation, and most individuals don’t have the traditional assets that can be used as collateral. 50Fin expands access to credit by providing Security backed loans. Securities like Mutual Funds and ETFs are owned by over 150Mn Indians, and no lender accepts them as collateral due to high minimum loan sizes. With a blue ocean market opportunity, and a balanced team with knowledge of Finance and Tech, 100X believes 50Fin could create a large business out of this untapped niche

Conclusion

With the team and the product, 50Fin can prove to be an excellent platform for consumers. A platform that provides Loans Against Securities and Mutual Funds at just 1% per month can solve the access to credit problem for millions. The team’s commitment and drive to scale the venture to greater heights is why we, at 100X.VC, believe that 50Fin is headed for great things. We are excited to play a part in achieving this dream!