DMI Group acquires troubled fintech startup ZestMoney

NEW DELHI: The DMI Group has acquired the homegrown digital EMI financing platform ZestMoney (Zest) for an undisclosed sum, the company announced on Thursday.

This development comes after the startup's new leadership informed the employees about the decision to shut down operations by the end of December, 2023.

DMI Finance, the NBFC arm of DMI, will be a preferred lender on the Zest platform. Through this acquisition, DMI will have the exclusive right to the use of all Zest brands.

This acquisition will also enable DMI to widen its engagement with current and potential customers by adding the ZestMoney checkout financing platform to its product suite.

"We have been partnered with ZestMoney for eight plus years in various capacities. We firmly believe that this acquisition will be an important step in our journey to provide digital financial inclusion at scale across India," Shivashish Chatterjee, Co-founder and Joint Managing Director of DMI, said in a statement.

DMI will also bring its customer base, balance-sheet strength and significant risk-management experience to drive growth across Zest’s online and offline merchant network.

"DMI has been at the forefront of digital lending in India. They bring strong capital support and deep expertise. DMI has been an early supporter of ZestMoney," said Mandar Satpute, Chief Operating Officer of Zest.

Founded in 2008, DMI is a pan-India financial services platform with core businesses in digital finance, housing finance and asset management.

It has raised over $1.5 billion of investment capital and is supported by global institutional investors, strategic family offices and leading international banks.