BharatPe IPO Plan:Indian fintech company ‘BharatPe’ is planning to launch an IPO in the coming 18 to 24 months. The company expects 30% revenue growth and profit at EBITDA level in the financial year 2025 (FY25). BharatPe CEO Nalin Negi has confirmed this plan. He told that the company is currently discussing this matter at different levels, but till now no one has been appointed in this regard.He has also said many important things about the company’s future plans and preparations.
Financial performance and future plans
Nalin Negi says that his company is “moving rapidly towards the target of earning profits at EBITDA level in FY25. The company’s priority in the coming financial year is to launch new products, stabilize them and gain traction at the consumer level. “While expanding its business, ‘BharatPe’ has started consumer-facing businesses like Unified Payments Interface (UPI), digital gold-based wealth management, bill payments.
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Plan to exit P2P lending business
The company has also decided to completely close its P2P lending business by March 2025. This step has been taken after the new rules implemented by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in August 2023. The company started this business in August 2021 under the brand ‘12% Club’. Negi said, “We have already completely stopped adding new customers and are exiting the business completely. By the end of March, the P2P balance will be negligible.”
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Network expansion strategy
There are 18 million registered merchants on the BharatPe platform, out of which 2.5 million are active. The company has provided payment devices to 60-65% of its active trader network. “We are monetizing our merchant base by providing loan facilities through NBFCs, selling soundboxes and point-of-sale (PoS) devices and credit cards on UPI,” Negi said.
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Claim to improve corporate governance
BharatPe has claimed to have made many changes to strengthen its corporate governance. The ongoing legal dispute between the company and its former co-founder Ashneer Grover was resolved in September 2023. Negi said, “We are paying full attention to corporate governance and financial control. In the last one-and-a-half years, we have invested a lot in our processes and systems.”
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Preparation to reduce stake in Unity SFB
BharatPe’s parent company Resilient Innovations is planning to reduce its 49% stake in Unity Small Finance Bank to 10%. For this, Rothschild has been given the responsibility of finding a potential buyer. Negi said, “We have to reduce our stake, but no deal has been finalized yet. The returns to investors are much better.”
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Launch and development of new products
Bharat Pay will soon launch a co-branded credit card in partnership with Unity Small Finance Bank. Apart from this, the company is also planning products like mutual funds, insurance and credit line on UPI. “There are plans to launch a co-branded credit card in January and will also launch a credit line product by the end of the financial year,” Negi said.
