Sachin Bansal’s fintech firm Navi raises its first significant institutional funding from Prosus as it prepares for a potential IPO, with valuation estimates reaching up to $2 billion amidst rapid growth in India’s digital payments ecosystem.
Navi, the fintech firm founded by Sachin Bansal, has raised $100 million from Dutch investor Prosus in what is being described as its first institutional funding round, as the company moves closer to a possible public offering in India. The transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals, including clearance from the Competition Commission of India.
The investment comes as the Bengaluru-based business prepares for a potential initial public offering said to be worth about $300 million. Navi has already appointed bankers for the proposed listing, and several reports suggest the deal could help strengthen its balance sheet before it tests the market.
According to The Tech Portal, the latest capital injection values Navi at roughly $1.3 billion. Other reports have put the company’s IPO ambitions at a higher figure, with one citing a possible valuation of up to $2 billion, underscoring that the eventual pricing remains uncertain. Either way, the fundraise gives Prosus a deeper foothold in a sector it already knows well through its backing of PayU.
For Bansal, the deal also reconnects him with an investor group closely linked to his earlier success at Flipkart, which he co-founded with Binny Bansal. In comments carried by the company and reported by the Free Press Journal, he said Prosus has a strong record of backing technology businesses for the long term, while Ashutosh Sharma, who heads Prosus India investments and mergers and acquisitions, pointed to Navi’s user base, technology-led model and range of financial products as key attractions.
Navi has grown into a notable player in India’s Unified Payments Interface ecosystem. The company processed about 947 million UPI transactions worth ₹48,318 crore in July, making it the fourth-largest UPI app by volume, according to the Free Press Journal. Its lending arm, Navi Finserv, has more than ₹13,000 crore in assets under management, with personal loans making up nearly 90% of its credit book, and the company says its lending business has served around 3.8 million customers. The fresh capital should help support that expansion as Navi seeks to build momentum ahead of a market debut.
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