Fintech startup IOUX looking to raise USD 10 mn; promote ease of doing biz

Fintech startup IOUX, which specialises in providing a holistic solution to execute legal and financial agreements to promote ease of doing business, is looking to raise USD 10 million (about Rs 77 crore) in a few months to further strengthen its presence in the sector, its co-founder Vineet K Sachdev said.

He also said the company is introducing blockchain systems at the IOUX platform to help MSMEs establish their performance and credit worthiness to get funds from financial institutions at easy and affordable terms. Businesses who fulfil their contractual commitments will stand to gain tremendously in terms of new business acquisition and access to viable credit through the startup’s partner network.

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The main target of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)-registered platform is to become a leading player in the areas of contract creation, execution and enforcement of legal and business agreement to promote ease of doing business in the country and the Digital India initiative of the government, he said. We have earlier raised a small seed round of USD 0.5 million. We are now looking at raising around USD 10 million in a few months time. We will work towards that. For that, we are exploring discussions with venture capital firms. We will be looking at venture capital firms who have a focus on legaltech and fintech, especially which is backed by blockchain technology, Sachdev told PTI.

The company has over 15,000 customers including about 3,000 businesses, and micro finance companies. Explaining the rationale behind the IOUX platform, he said that individuals and MSMEs face a lot of issues with regard to documentation like legal agreements, loan and rent agreements, work contracts, HR agreements, and financing and service agreements. So the IOUX platform provides a one-stop solution to all these issues. We have templates for all these agreements which are drafted by domain experts and are legally vetted also, Sachdev added.

H P Kumar, who is also a co-founder of IOUX, added that the platform helps in resolving finance, compliances, and legal agreement documentation, which in turn promotes ease of doing business and improves the business environment of the country particularly for the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector. All these issues can be addressed through our platform, Kumar said adding our specific product verticals include online creation of legal contracts/ security and other documents; e-sign any document; download drafts/ samples of documents and agreements; obtain stamp paper online; verify and authenticate identity of any person/business (eKYC) .

Kumar added that the platform promotes ease of doing business through fast-tracking contract execution and enforcement. The fintech and legaltech services being offered by our company are unique and there is no other company in India providing such services in an integrated manner. Our company has already applied for three patents and have received two,” he added.

The government has granted patents for a secured system and method for generating and monitoring a smart contract using computer- implemented distributed ledger; and contractual dispute resolution mechanism (CDRM). It is also registered with CERSAI, CKYC, rating agencies/credit bureaus like CIBIL, CRIF, Equifax and Experian. The company has an in-house technology team which has developed the entire software system with investment coming from founders.