Bengaluru-based fintech startup, iTribe, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding from investors such as Eximius Ventures, Kunal Shah (Cred), Incisive Ventures, and several angel investors.
iTribe helps users learn, invest and grow in the stock market despite their busy schedules.
The pre-seed funding round saw participation from the leadership team of Cred (Harish, Swami, Sreeni, Ketan), Pearl Agarwal (Eximius Ventures) and angel investors such as Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli and Rishikesh SR (founders of Rapido), Reeju Datta (founder of Cashfree), Gaurav Dahake (founder of BitBns).
Founded by second-time entrepreneurs Nikhil M. and Pruthvi Raj E, iTribe said in a statement that it works to empower Millennial and Gen-Z on their journey to financial independence by creating a trusted social network for investor experts, teachers, and peers.
Nikhil M, Co-founder, iTribe said, “As users seek more customized financial services and make a collective move to digitization, the fintech industry is also rising to the occasion. Since the pandemic, retail trading has boomed, with broking accounts growing by ~50% within nine months. However, penetration has been low among millennials. Moreover, in March 2020, out of the then 4 crore Demat accounts, 75% were inactive.”
“This tendency can be attributed to the lack of knowledge, which can be solved by access to the right resources and guidance. We aim to make iTribe a place for anyone to learn and become informed investors and traders, Nikhil added.
iTribe said it plans to deploy the funds to build new technology tools that make adoption by the front line much more accessible, accelerating the organizational adaptation needed to produce results.
Pearl Agarwal, Founder & Managing Director, Eximius Ventures said, “In the last couple of years, with an increasing number of millennials and Gen-Z entering the investment landscape, we have seen a change in investors’ decision-making approach. The new set of investors are more active with investment decisions – they want access to a diversified set of asset classes and learn to do it independently from experts.”
“iTribe is well-positioned to capitalize on this trend by helping clients make informed investment decisions by building their knowledge on different investment opportunities, helping them discover news and tools, seeking second opinions from investment professionals and enabling businesses to focus on building better.” Pearl added.
