Earlier this week, Pune-based Fibe filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator SEBI. With this, Fibe has now joined a growing list of Indian startups looking to tap the public markets to unlock their next growth chapter. 

Founded in 2015 as EarlySalary, Fibe offered salary advances and small-ticket personal loans to young working professionals at the outset. However, over the last decade, the startup has transformed itself from a single-product lending app to a diversified consumer finance platform. 

Fibe has evolved beyond its roots as a personal loan platform, expanding into a wider financial ecosystem that now includes education, healthcare, insurance, travel, and even rooftop solar financing.

With an eye on getting listed via an IPO that will comprise a fresh issue of up to ₹750 Cr and an offer-for-sale component of over 4 Cr shares, here is why Fibe today has become more than just a personal loan startup.  

For years, EarlySalary built its identity around one simple proposition, offering quick salary advances to young professionals with limited access to formal credit. However, as digital lending matured, so did customer expectations. 

Instead of borrowing only for emergencies, consumers started seeking financing for specific purchases and lifestyle needs. It was at this time that rising competition and tighter RBI regulations forced lenders to rethink their business models. 

Fibe responded by expanding its product portfolio. 

According to its DRHP, the company offers financing across multiple categories (as mentioned above). Besides, it continues to offer unsecured personal loans, loans against mutual funds, cobranded credit cards, third-party FDs and insurance products. 

More importantly, the startup has changed the way it acquires customers. 

Instead of relying exclusively on its mobile apps, Fibe now distributes credit through a wide partner ecosystem that includes telecom operators, ecommerce platforms, hospitals, health insurance companies, educational institutions and online marketplaces. 

The strategy is aligned with Fibe’s core customer bases. As per its draft IPO papers, the startup primarily serves India’s aspirational middle-income population, particularly young working professionals. As of FY26, its average customer earned a monthly income of ₹37,083, while the average loan ticket size stood at ₹77,987. This explains the company’s expansion into categories such as healthcare, education, insurance, and other expenses that are increasingly becoming essential but can strain monthly household budgets.    

Fibe’s diversification has coincided with improved financial growth. Over the last three financial years, the startup’s revenue more than doubled from ₹780 Cr to ₹1,601 Cr. During the same period, net profit nearly tripled from ₹101 Cr to ₹257 Cr, while its assets under management (AUM) almost doubled from ₹4,064 Cr to ₹8,603 Cr, only highlighting that the lending business has expanded. 

The startup’s loan originations rose from ₹8,591 Cr in FY24 to ₹15,243 Cr in FY26, while the value of its personal loan portfolio increased from ₹3,888 Cr to ₹8,420 Cr during the same period. 

Typically, loan growth comes with concern over credit quality. Fibe, however, argues that its portfolio has steadily improved. Its DRHP revealed that borrowers with credit scores above 731 accounted for 86.15% of originations in FY26, compared to 76.46% two years ago, reflecting a deliberate shift towards prime and above-prime borrowers. 

At the same time, its 90+ day past due (DPD) delinquency ratio improved from 2.50% in June 2024 to 1.13% by March 2026. Fibe attributes the improvement to tighter underwriting, stronger collection and migration towards higher-credit-quality customers. 

However, digital lending remains a risky business, which is reflected in how some industry experts are evaluating Fibe’s proposed public market debut. A fintech executive said the company’s expected valuation of about $1 Bn appears expensive for a lender of its size.

“Traditional NBFCs typically trade at 15X-20X PE multiple. Fibe is seeking close to 30X-40X, which looks rich for a relatively young company. Lending is a cyclical business. One bad credit cycle and the company could struggle to sustain its growth,” the person said. 

The DRHP itself flags regulatory tightening as one of the industry’s biggest challenges. The RBI’s evolving framework around digital lending, co-lending arrangements, customer protection norms and default loss guarantees could materially affect business models across the sector. 

Beyond regulation, lending businesses remain vulnerable to macroeconomic slowdowns, rising credit losses, fraud and dependence on external borrowing to fund loan growth. 

Fibe’s IPO also reflects a trend: Digital lenders are increasingly looking at public markets as their balance sheets expand. The sector has renewed momentum over the past year. Kissht and Aye Finance’s IPOs received healthy responses from the public markets, while Kreditbee recently joined India’s unicorn club. Moneyview, too, has been widely expected to go for a public listing in the coming months. This shows continued investor interest in profitable lending businesses. 

Unlike ecommerce or SaaS startups that primarily raise capital to fund expansion, lending businesses need cash to support larger loan books. 

According to a fintech industry executive, a need for fresh capital is why digital lenders are increasingly turning to public markets. “Most existing investors eventually reach a point where they are unwilling to keep funding balance sheet growth. IPOs are becoming a natural way to raise that capital once private funding starts running thin,” the executive said. 

All in all, Fibe is asking the market to value it not as an advance salary app, but as a scaled consumer finance platform with multiple growth engines. Will investors agree?

Edited By Shishir Parasher

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