Fintech lender Kissht gets SEBI clearance for Rs 1,000-crore+ IPO; Vertex Ventures, others to sell shares

Lending technology startup Kissht has received regulatory clearance from the capital markets regulator SEBI to proceed with its initial public offering (IPO), marking a key milestone ahead of its proposed listing.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued its observations on the company’s draft papers to its parent entity, OnEMI Technology Solutions Ltd, on January 8, which in regulatory terms signifies approval to launch the public issue.

Kissht had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in August 2025, proposing to raise up to Rs 1,000 crore through a fresh issue of equity shares.

The IPO will also include an offer for sale of up to 8,879,575 equity shares by existing shareholders. As per the DRHP, selling shareholders include Vertex Ventures, Ventureast Proactive Fund, Endiya Seed Co-creation Fund, AION Advisory, and Ammar Sdn Bhd.

The company has also stated that it may undertake a pre-IPO placement. If such a placement is completed, the size of the fresh issue would be reduced to that extent.

Founded in 2015 by Ranvir Singh and Krishnan Vishwanathan, Kissht operates a digital lending platform offering unsecured personal loans with ticket sizes of up to Rs 5 lakh, primarily through a technology-led underwriting process. The company also distributes health insurance products and offers secured lending products, including loans against property. Kissht follows a hybrid operating model.

As of the date of the DRHP, it operated 62 physical branches across six states and one Union Territory (Puducherry), primarily for its secured lending operations under the loans-against-property segment.

According to the draft prospectus, up to Rs 750 crore from the net proceeds of the fresh issue will be used to augment the capital base of Si Creva Capital Services Private Limited, the group’s non-banking financial company (NBFC), which undertakes the disbursement of unsecured personal loans. The remaining proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

As of March 31, 2025, the company reported a registered user base of 53.23 million and stated that it had served 9.16 million customers, with 1.9 million active customers. Unsecured personal loans constituted 98.15% of the company’s assets under management as of the same date.

For the financial year ended March 31, 2025, the Mumbai-headquartered company reported a decline in profitability. Net profit fell 18.6% year-on-year to Rs 160.62 crore, compared with Rs 197.29 crore in the previous fiscal. Operating revenue declined to Rs 1,337.47 crore in FY25 from ₹1,674.45 crore in FY24.

Ahead of the IPO, the company converted into a public limited entity in July 2025 and changed its name from OnEMI Technology Solutions Private Limited to OnEMI Technology Solutions Limited.

The proposed public issue will be managed by JM Financial, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India), Nuvama Wealth Management, SBI Capital Markets, and Centrum Capital as book-running lead managers. KFin Technologies Limited has been appointed as the registrar to the issue.