Progcap: Google-backed Online Lending Marketplace
Founded in 2017 by Pallavi Shrivastava and Himanshu Chandra, Progcap has been sailing through the tough funding and economic headwinds in the startup ecosystem. The startup has raised over USD 100 million since its inception. Working at the intersection of software and financial services, the brand aims to be the first full-stack retailer-focused digital bank that digitises, automates and eases capital movement across the supply chain for SMBs that have remained excluded from the formal financial ecosystem.
Recognising its problem-solving attitude and growth trajectory, BW Businessworld has awarded the fintech player with its Young Entrepreneur Award 2023.
Sharing Progcap’s secret to success, Shrivastava, Co-founder and Director, says, "We have been focused heavily on the core and building for long-term profitability. We have heavily emphasised building robust systems, controls, and governance in place, while ensuring customer retention."
Low-key Leadership
Leadership is the key to building a successful brand. "Despite facing turbulence, our continued focus remains on growing our people and customers," Shrivastava adds. Further, she explains, despite all the challenges the brand has faced, what has not changed is the trust of customers and the optimism of the teams.
The year 2022 happened to be one of the most challenging years the startup ecosystem had seen in the past decade. However, unlike its competitors, Progcap secured USD 40 million in June 2022. This signifies that the brand’s unit economics is spot on. In terms of business growth, it has reported a threefold increase last fiscal year compared to FY21, and on top of that, it became profitable in Q3 last fiscal. Capitalising On Credit
When asked about the biggest challenge the startup has faced, Shrivastava highlights, "Being the first player to solve the working capital financing needs of this segment, we found ourselves competing with informal credit and a set way of doing business. We soon learned that the customers we were targeting were not easy to switch, which led us to create a customised, flexible product that was closer to their cash flow cycles."
She adds, "Additionally, we faced challenges in convincing our capital supply partners and investors that this could be a large enough market and that we could solve it with a nuanced and well-
designed product. Supply challenges were also a hurdle as we were trying to balance the expectations of our FI partners while ensuring a uniform customer experience."
