INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Tens of thousands of Indians move to the United States to pursue higher education each year
So for banks and other financial institutions, there is more risk when they engage with foreigners
So they charge more.An Indian student studying in the United States , for instance, borrows money at an interest rate over 13%, compared to
their local peers who can secure the same amount of credit, if not more, at less than half of that interest rate.Bangalore and San
Francisco-based startup Leap Finance, which was founded last year, announced on Tuesday that it is tackling this very challenge, and has
Equity podcast.]Indian students in the United States can secure financing from Leap Finance at an interest rate of between 8% to 10%, said
Arnav Kumar, co-founder of the startup, in an interview with A Technology News Room.The startup said it is underwriting the loans based on
worked at financial services groups InCred and Capital Float, arrived at the idea of creating Leap Finance partly because they too faced
startup plans to offer a range of financial services and serve as a neobank.Serving credit needs of students is a big addressable market in
in the best programs and have a great future ahead
systemic inefficiencies and lack of innovation
to disburse loans in recent weeks and said more than 100 students are already benefiting from the service.The startup said it is currently
serving Indian students in the United States , but plans to serve such Indian students in Canada, the U.K
and Indonesia, where the interest rate could go as high as 20%, said Kumar, who previously served as an Associate VP at VC fund SAIF
Partners .As part of the announcement, the duo said they have raised $5.5 million led by Sequoia Capital India
Bhupinder Singh, chief executive of financial services group InCred and Kunal Shah, founder and chief executive of financial services firm
abroad today spend $15B annually and we estimate an annual credit need for >$5B against this
