Open becomes Kerala’s first unicorn start-up

Marking a major milestone in State’s start-up ecosystem, homegrown company Open Financial Technologies has entered the coveted unicorn club with a new funding round, raising $50 million from the Mumbai-headquartered IIFL Finance.

A neo-banking platform for SMEs, the Kerala-based startup is also India’s 100th unicorn, entering the elite club with a valuation of $1 billion.

Proud day

“This is indeed a proud day for the Kerala start-up ecosystem,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a video message from the U.S. “I believe this is just a beginning and that more unicorns will arise from Kerala and contribute to India’s quest to emerge as world’s largest start-up ecosystem,” he said.   

The Chief Minister added that the company has proposed to invest ₹200 crore over the next five years to set up a Centre of Excellence and fintech accelerator in Kochi to bolster the State’s start-up ecosystem.

Founded by Anish Achuthan, Mabel Chacko, Deena Jacob and Ajeesh Achuthan in 2017, the start-up has partnership with over a dozen top banks in India. Open has also built Asia’s first digital banking platform for SMEs, start-ups, and freelancers.

The Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) which is also an equity holder in the company had provided handholding for the company in the initial stages with an assistance of of ₹2 crore under the Fund of Funds programme.

Boost for start-ups

Noting that Open’s achievement is a proud moment for the State’s start-up ecosystem, John M. Thomas, KSUM CEO, said the milestone achievement would bolster the confidence of other start-ups. “Open has proved the importance of providing innovative services and sustaining in-depth focus to attain growth in a niche sector,” he added.    

Open will use the fund to to drive global expansion and reach over five million customers within the next year. It is planning to expand to Southeast Asia, Europe, and the U.S.