Indian FinTech PeLocal secures $2m seed funding led by Unicorn India Ventures

November 21, 2024

PeLocal, an Indian payment solutions provider that integrates its platform within WhatsApp, has successfully raised $2m in seed funding.

The funding round was led by Unicorn India Ventures, according to a report from IBS Intelligence.

This investment will enable PeLocal to expand its platform capabilities and accelerate its go-to-market strategies. The funds will also support the rollout of large-scale projects as the company scales its operations further.

Founded in 2021, PeLocal operates as a FinTech innovator, leveraging WhatsApp to facilitate seamless transactions across various sectors, including urban travel, utility payments, and insurance premium payments. By pioneering this integration, PeLocal is transforming how consumers and businesses interact with payment platforms, making digital transactions more accessible and efficient.

The company aims to use the new funding to increase its transaction volume on WhatsApp, targeting 10 million monthly payment transactions within the next year, up from its current 3 million.

PeLocal has grown significantly over the past 12 months, tripling its monthly payment transactions from 500k to 3 million.

Anil Joshi, managing partner at Unicorn India Ventures, said, “India is undoubtedly among the fastest-growing FinTech markets in the world, driven by the rapid adoption of digital technologies. While digital payment solutions are growing, there is still a need for a unique and simple digital payment solution for micropayments on the fly, which is what PeLocal is enabling through the WhatsApp platform and enabling a seamless experience for consumers and service providers.

“As we have a strong track record of investing in the FinTech segment, we believe PeLocal will continue to sustain its momentum, scale further with its innovative solutions, and strengthen its leadership position in this space.”

PeLocal’s founder and CEO, Vivekanand Tripathi, said, “PeLocal is thrilled to be backed by Unicorn India Ventures. The deep expertise and strategic insights of Unicorn’s leadership, as they have backed several high-performing FinTech startups, will be invaluable as we continue to build on our growth momentum. This is our maiden institutional funding, and we believe it is a crucial step in the right direction, providing the support and guidance needed to fuel our continued expansion and success.”