StrideOne has a Solution for Other Startups Suffering from Funding Slowdown

While most startups are feeling the effects of a funding freeze, Delhi-based StrideOne sees an opportunity to tap into an ecosystem largely untapped by traditional finance. The tech-powered digital lender, which received its NBFC licence last year, believes the time has come for debt-based solutions because capital is expected to be scarce for the next three to four quarters.

Ishpreet Singh Gandhi, co-founder, StrideOne said, “This ripple effect (of a funding slowdown) will be felt across the startup ecosystem. We are a startup focussed institution and this provides us with an opportunity to offer our off-balance sheet solutions to them.”

The end-to-end digital solutions provider also acquired EdCred platform, a SaaS company, to improve its technological capabilities, allowing it to grow without hiring more people. "We want to stay unit positive," said Abhinav Suri, co-founder of StrideOne, which recently raised $250 million in equity and debt from Elevar Equity.

It anticipates that other startups will follow in their footsteps. "Some startups, like Suri, do not want to raise equity at current valuations but instead intend to continue building the mindspace for their products," Gandhi, a former banker, explains.