For almost eight years, Sachin Bansal has tried to build Navi without having to answer to institutional investors.

The Flipkart cofounder poured a substantial part of his Flipkart exit proceeds, nearly $400-450 Mn, into the financial services venture, betting that technology, cheap capital and a full-stack approach to finance could help Navi become something much larger than a digital lending company.

On August 19, when Dutch investment giant Prosus ploughed $100 Mn into Navi as the first big external funding round, it came as a validation from a large fintech investor for Bansal’s Navi.

But the industry and certain media reports claimed that the much-awaited funding into Navi may have come at a valuation markdown, from nearly $2 Bn when the company was in talks with various investors for a fundraise earlier, to a $1.3 Bn valuation now.

At first glance, Prosus’ investment looks like a vote of confidence for a fintech that has finally turned around its business.

Navi says its lending AUM has crossed ₹13,000 Cr, while its UPI business has become the country’s fourth-largest UPI app. The company also says it returned to consolidated profitability in Q4 FY26.

But the overall numbers also tell another tale. Navi’s consolidated loss widened sharply to ₹466 Cr in FY26 from ₹126 Cr in FY25, with the company attributing the deterioration largely to investments in UPI and newer businesses.

However, a closer look at the financial statements of Navi from FY25 onwards suggests that the financial services company has been struggling to bring down its NPA ratio, with ballooning impairment costs on financial instruments in its FY25 financials compounded by the investments in the payments business for gaining UPI market share in FY26.

Source link