[Funding alert] Fintech startup Three Wheels United raises $10 mn in Series A round

Three Wheels United, a fintech startup for EV financing has raised $10 million in its Series A funding round from Delta Corp Holdings and existing investor Techstars. The funding round is a combination of equity and debt form.

Angle investors from Middle East, Europe, and Grip Invest also participated in this round.

The company plans to use the funds to expand new geographies in India and international markets, strengthening operations in existing cities, enhance TWU’s technology platform and grow its customer base.

Founded in 2017 by Cedrick Tandong, Kevin Wervenbos and Apurv Mehra, It is working towards removing the financial constraints in the adoption of electric vehicles in India and now globally.

The startup provides affordable financing solutions for drivers to easily switch from conventional vehicles to EV two and three-wheelers.

“Three Wheels United was founded with a belief that technology can accelerate our efforts towards promoting sustainable last-mile connectivity. Over the last several years of working in the EV ecosystem, we have gathered deep insights into some of the barriers to mass adoption of EVs. The lack of affordable financing continues to be a key obstacle for low-income clients to switch to EVs. We have identified these challenges and we have created a scalable solution that is tailored for our clients”, said, Cedrick Tandong, CEO and Co-founder, Three Wheels United.

“We are pleased with the further validation of our business model. The new investment will accelerate our next phase of growth and enable us to establish a strong foothold in the existing markets and test out other markets. We intend to launch the two-wheelers category and expand to ten more cities by the end of this year. TWU has long-lasting partnerships with leading OEMs, aggregator platforms, battery swapping and charging operators, tech giants, and other related infrastructure service providers”, he added.

The fintech company has over 50,000 drivers on its platform as a customer and offers them various products and services.

The startup has funded over 4,000 auto-rickshaws, resulting in a reduction in CO2 emissions of 1,72,000+ tonnes, and an additional $71 million in income for drivers.

“We believe Three Wheels United is addressing a significant need in the EV ecosystem. To accomplish a large-scale EV shift, access to easy financing is a critical element. With their deep understanding of financing needs of low-income clients and through the use of innovative technology, they have built a highly profitable and scalable business model that can allow millions of micro-entrepreneurs to make the EV shift”, said, Mudit Paliwal, CEO, Delta Corp Holdings.

Vijay Tirathrai, Managing Director of  Techstars, said,” Having been a part of TWU’s growth story for the last several years, we have seen the team successfully navigate challenges and emerge as a leading financier for light electric vehicles. We are happy to be supporting the team in their mission to improve the livelihoods of auto-rickshaw drivers and reduce air pollution.”

According to the release, UAE-based Neo Capital Ventures was the financial advisor on the current round of investment as well as TWU’s deal.

Earlier TWU had raised funds from Asian Development Bank Ventures, Techstars, Microsoft and its investors from the Middle East, Europe and the US.

About Three Wheels United

Three Wheels United is a tech-enhanced financier for light electric vehicles in India, starting with the auto rickshaws.

Three Wheels United is combining tailored financing solutions with innovative loan management and asset management technology to offer a competitive loan, removing barriers for uptake, while de-risking their lending. They use innovative structured financed and credit enhancers specifically designed for mobility assets, to cover a loan to cover up to 100% of the vehicle cost at a low-interest rate, removing the challenge of a high down payment. TWU has developed data-driven technology that combines loan management and asset management, keeping operations costs and default rates low, while improving driver income.