Fintech startup PeLocal raises $2 million seed funding led by Unicorn India Ventures

PeLocal, a payment solutions provider within Whatsapp, has raised $2 million in a seed funding round led by Unicorn India Ventures.

The startup plans to use the raised capital to expand and enhance the platform and also help accelerate go-to-market strategies for rolling out large-scale projects.

What does PeLocal do?

Founded in 2021 by Vivekanand Tripathi (Founder & CEO), PeLocal pioneers payment solutions within WhatsApp, advancing digital transactions for clients like Delhi Metro, Indraprastha Gas, Mahanagar Gas, and insurance providers.

The startup specializes in transit ticketing, utility payments, and financial services, delivering secure solutions across government and private sectors.

PeLocal’s growth

PeLocal claims that it has grown from 500,000 monthly payments transactions to 3 million monthly payment transactions in the last 12 months.

The startup now aims to touch 10 million monthly payments transactions on WhatsApp in the next 12 months. It will also be launching a Marketing Catalogue on WhatsApp with Payments and SMB payments platform on WhatsApp.

“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,” said Vivekanand Tripathi Founder & CEO, PeLocal.

Investor comments

Commenting on the investment, Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, said, “India is undoubtedly amongst the fastest growing fintech markets in the world, driven by the rapid adoption of digital technologies. While the digital payment solutions are growing, there is still a need for a unique and simple digital payment solution for micro payments on the fly, which is what PeLocal is enabling through WhatsApp platform and enabling 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 and also scale further with its innovative solutions and strengthen its leadership position in this space. PeLocal has seen 3X yearly growth rate in the last 24 months and will be launching new solutions. Hence, we believe the market opportunity is huge and the company has built the right momentum to capitalise on this segment,” Joshi added.