Avail Finance: Ola’s bigger financial services bet?

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Editor's note: A little over a month ago, three-year-old fintech startup Avail Finance announced it had raised $11.5 million in fresh funding. The transaction valued the online lender—which issues loans to blue-collar and gig workers—at about $70 million, according to estimates by Entrackr. A modest deal for a smallish startup? There’s more than what meets the eye. For one, the COVID-19 pandemic has not been kind to online lenders, with both the economic fallout and unhelpful regulatory action putting immense pressure on companies. Apart from the large, well-established players, this has not been a good time for fundraising; Bengaluru-based Avail has not only raised a Series B round, but also managed to pull in a new investor in American hedge fund Falcon Edge Capital. Credit for blue-collar workers is a segment that hasn’t been kind to many entrepreneurs in recent months with some such as Pune-based Bon Credit exiting the space and some looking for buyers. Avail Finance, on the other hand, has by all accounts managed to weather the storm better than most, and amid this crisis situation, the company is …