Efficient Capital Labs (ECL), a fintech company that provides non-dilutive capital to B2B SaaS companies operating in the South Asia-U.S. corridor, recently announced a $7 million Pre-Series A raise led by QED Investors with participation from existing investors including 645 Ventures, The Fund, Lorimer Ventures, Riverside Ventures, and Generalist coming in as a new investor alongside QED.
ECL offers B2B SaaS companies a percentage of their ARR as upfront capital, which is 100 percent non-dilutive. ECL funds customers through its balance sheet, which means that customers get access to capital at a much cheaper cost and don’t have to face the uncertainty of depending on third-party investors or marketplace dynamics to receive capital against revenue.
The latest funding led by QED Investors brings the total amount of capital raised by ECL to $110.5 million, which includes a $100 million debt facility. And this new round follows the equity raise in April last year of $3.5 million, led by 645 Ventures. ECL will use this fresh round of capital to invest in greater automation, expand its team across engineering, product, underwriting, sales and operations and achieve better unit economics.
ECL was co-founded in 2022 by Kaustav Das and Manish Arora. And before founding the business, Das spent more than 20 years in the industry as chief risk officer at multiple organizations, including Kabbage (now a part of American Express), in both commercial and consumer finance sectors. Arora has worked extensively as a senior leader in B2B SaaS, fintech, and regulatory technology spaces, most recently as the general manager of South Asia for PayJoy, a San Francisco-headquartered B2B SaaS fintech.
Since starting its lending operations in June 2022, ECL provided funding to more than 50 SaaS businesses, and the business is poised to grow to more than 150 customers before the end of 2023.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our vision is to enable border-agnostic access to capital for businesses in emerging markets, such as India, that can benefit from lower capital costs that are available in markets such as the U.S.”
“Our value proposition is unmatched, we offer the most capital- and time-efficient solution for SaaS businesses looking to raise growth capital. We are immensely grateful to our investors for putting their faith in our vision and mission. The latest fundraise allows us to continue innovating for the customers who we serve.”
— Kaustav Das
“Indian SaaS companies are known for innovative and specialist software solutions, and their growth in selling to the U.S. represents a new era of entrepreneurship and global collaboration. By providing non-dilutive capital to these companies, ECL empowers the founders to build for the long term and drive innovation and growth. Kaustav and Manish are a formidable team. I am thrilled to partner with them and I look forward to what the future holds.”
— QED Investors Partner and Head of Asia, Sandeep Patil
“As Efficient Capital continues to grow, we have seen a surge in demand from SaaS companies. We are excited to continue backing the vision of the ECL founders and delighted that QED shares our thesis and are now our partners in this journey.”
— Aaron Holiday, Co-founder and Managing Partner at 645 Ventures
