Current Valuation: $1.4b (as of Mar 2021)

Funding Raised: $456.1M

Rounds of Funding: 18

Number of Investors: 64

Profit: ₹224.24Cr

Revenue: ₹354.49Cr

Did you know Five Star Business Finance is a registered Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC-ND-SI) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)?

Founded in 1984, the company led by Mr. D. Lakshmipathy and Mr. V. Thiagarajan, operates in smaller cities and towns in India to cater to the needs of SMEs in underserved areas and differentiate itself from larger banks.

Mr. Lakshmipathy is a veteran journalist and media entrepreneur, while Mr. Thiagarajan has over three decades of experience in the financial services industry.

While serving SMEs, it provides specialized loan products to fulfill various business types' demands.

Today, the startup is one of the leading NBFCs in India, with a strong focus on serving the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in underserved markets.

The interesting fact about the company is that while financial services as an industry is moving towards tech, this startup focuses on building good career opportunities for locals.

They are a team of over 4,000 employees and have served over 85,000 customers.

As their CEO, Rangarajan Krishnan suggested that loan in two minutes isn’t the tech they are chasing. The company does want to miss the human touch at all.

The company also launched the project "Sakhi" to help women entrepreneurs in India. The project supports women-led businesses with flexible repayment options and competitive interest rates.