CreditVidya

CreditVidya, founded in 2012 by Abhishek Agarwal and Rajiv Raj, operates as a key player in India's alternative credit scoring market. The company's genesis stems from a personal experience of co-founder Abhishek Agarwal, who, despite his strong educational background, was denied a loan for a laptop due to a lack of credit history. This event highlighted the shortcomings of traditional credit underwriting and inspired the creation of a platform to serve first-time borrowers. Agarwal's background includes a role as Head of Products and Data Strategy at Experian and experience as an analyst on Wall Street, complemented by dual degrees in Computer Science and Math and an MBA. Co-founder Rajiv Raj is a banking veteran with over two decades of experience in retail banking, SME lending, and credit bureaus, including being part of the team that introduced bureau scoring to India via CIBIL.

The firm provides technology and data analytics to financial institutions, including banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), to assess the creditworthiness of underserved populations. Its business model is primarily B2B, offering a Lending-as-a-Service (LaaS) platform. This platform utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze over 10,000 alternative data points, creating more inclusive credit scores. This allows its clients to underwrite small, unsecured loans for individuals new to credit, a segment often overlooked by traditional scoring methods. The company's services cover the entire credit cycle, from prospecting and underwriting to delinquency management. Products like CVScore aim to increase loan approval rates, while IncomeX digitizes income verification and an Employment Verification Engine automates manual checks.

In December 2022, CreditVidya was acquired by the fintech unicorn CRED for an undisclosed amount in a cash and stock deal, although both entities continue to operate independently. Prior to the acquisition, CreditVidya had raised approximately $10 million in funding from investors including Kalaari Capital, Matrix Partners India, and Bharat Innovation Fund. The platform claims to have underwritten over 25 million individuals and works with over 55 lending partners, significantly reducing loan decision times from days to under five minutes.

Keywords: alternative credit scoring, lending-as-a-service, financial inclusion, AI underwriting, fintech India, credit risk assessment, big data analytics, NBFC solutions, digital lending, new-to-credit