Early-stage venture capital firm RTP Global on Thursday announced a $4 million seed funding into fintech startup Dexif that enables fixed-income investment products. The startup said it will deploy the capital towards scaling its technology, hiring, and expanding business operations.
A fixed-income investment strategy is characterized by lower risk compared to equities and derivatives, with a focus on generating steady returns from investments. Examples include bond funds, post office savings schemes, company deposits, certificates of deposit, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and money market funds.
For example, a company might raise funds for its operations by issuing an investment product that guarantees a fixed amount of interest.
“We are a facilitator between businesses looking to raise capital with investors in a B2B and B2B2C model. We deal with investment-grade companies only and we deal only with listed securities. There is no risk involved in this,” Deepank Bhandari, Founder & CEO, Dexif told FE Aspire.
“So our revenue model is around facilitating a transaction through making a seller meet a buyer through our ecosystem,” he added.
Incorporated in November 2022 by Bhandari and Tushar Sharma, the company claimed Gross Transaction Volume (GTV) of around Rs 300 crores per month.
According to Dexif, India’s bond market, worth around $2.2 trillion, has significant growth potential compared to other major economies. For instance, Japan’s debt-to-GDP ratio is 245 per cent, the US’s is 114 per cent while India’s is only 54 per cent.
This low ratio indicates that India’s bond market has substantial room for growth and is expected to potentially triple by 2030 to reach an 80 per cent debt-to-GDP ratio, the company said in a statement.
“The fixed income market, while actively traded, often faces challenges related to price discovery, accessibility for all investors, and transparency. Technology-driven ecosystems like Dexif can provide critical solutions to these issues, enhancing the market’s overall attractiveness and functionality for a broader range of investors,” said Nishit Garg, Partner, RTP Global’s Asia investment team.
Since 2000, RTP Global said it has made over 110 investments worldwide, with one in 10 becoming multi-billion dollar companies and one in 20 publicly trading at over $10 billion.