Finhaat, a financial product delivery platform catering to the financial needs of people living in tier 3 and 4 cities, has tied up with Nidhi companies to provide credit to the underserved communities in Maharashtra. Nidhi are companies in the Indian non-banking finance (NBFC) sector, recognised under section 406 of the Companies Act 2013, that allow their members to lend and borrow money from each other.

Nidhi companies were started to promote savings among the members and use these deposits for borrowing and lending money to the members. Finhaat is stepping up to allow individuals in tier 3 and tier 4 to manage their financial health easily.
Of the two products Finhaat offers, one is credit-linked life insurance that ensures that even following the demise of the insured person, the burden doesn't fall on the nominee. The insurance company directly pays the outstanding bill to Nidhi and the credit societies.

The other product offers healthcare assistance in facilitating government schemes and free health facilities to mitigate any hindrance to treatment. Finhaat aims to provide extensive assistance to Nidhi companies by digitally delivering these life insurance products. It will offer various options from financial institutions or product partners and ensure ongoing support through training for staff and agents to boost sales efforts.

"We are working extensively in Maharashtra with Nidhi companies, credit society and cooperative banks to curate and provide relevant Insurance products and support to them. We have active partnerships in Nashik, Aurangabad, and Konkan regions-. Given their strong presence and awareness -in the state, we are -keen to build upon these partnerships and spread their reach and product offerings across the state," Vinod Singh, co-founder and CEO of Finhaat, stated.

The fintech is present across India through its partner institutions and has covered 65 per cent of India's postal codes serving customers. It collaborates with various microfinance institutions, non-banking financial companies, NGOs, and others with rural and semi-urban networks to create and deliver insurance products that suit its client base.

Finhaat aims to simplify the onboarding and post-sales processes, using its own tech platform and trained personnel. The quick integration with their IT platform helps drive sales and internal reporting. Singh added that the company has a team of trained personnel who assist people in getting onboarded on the platform.

He also shared that they have onboarded around 40 lakh customers in the past 16 months and are currently onboarding 3 lakh customers monthly through various modes, such as the Finhaat frontend and other partner organisations through the technology support provided by Finhaat itself. The company, along with its partner organisations, is handling around 3000 trades monthly.

The company recently raised $3 million in seed funding on 20th December 2023, led by Omnivore with participation from Kettleborough VC. Singh stated that the funds will be used to expand further by building robust technological models, enriching product experience, introducing innovative products, enhancing our partner base, and hiring resources for new verticals.