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pinBox, a global pensiontech platform committed exclusively to digital micro-pension and social security inclusion, has raised $1 million in seed funding led by Venture Catalysts (Vcats). Vcats’ accelerator fund 9unicorns also participated in the round.

Founded in 2016 by industry veterans Parul Seth Khanna and Gautam Bhardwaj, pinBox uses technology, process innovation, and a simple, intuitive user interface to address friction and access challenges in delivering micro-pension and insurance solutions to underserved informal sector workers.

Gautam Bhardwaj, Co-founder of pinBox, said, 

“Without comprehensive social protection, we are staring at an old age poverty crisis that will soon impact everyone in the world. By 2050, this problem will become too large and irreversible — somewhat like climate change. We must urgently encourage and enable young, economically active citizens to start saving for a 25-year retirement. There is no other option.”

In 2020, pinBox joined hands with WhatsApp and integrated its platform with the app to make saving for old age as quick, easy, and simple as sending a message.

pinBox has worked extensively with several governments, regulators, financial inclusion stakeholders, and DFIs like World Bank, UNCDF, and UKAID across Asia and Africa on expanding digital micro-pension and social protection coverage to self-employed women and informal sector workers including gig-workers. 

The startup said it has built a white-labelled and fully API-enabled micro-pension-tech platform that integrates the digital ID, finance, and payments ecosystem to “switch-on” an inclusive social security marketplace.

In India, pinBox is working with HDFC Pension, SBI AMC, and other insurers to help deliver NPS and customiszed saving and insurance solutions to India’s 400 million informal sector workers without social security benefits.

Dr Apoorva Sharma, Co-founder and president of Venture Catalysts, said, “We strongly echo the urgent need for simple and easy access to micro-pensions and social protection by millions of informal sector workers. Parul and Gautam clearly have unique expertise, experience and passion that is needed to succeed at scale.”

“The funding from VCats will help us upscale our capacity to more effectively meet the growing interest in comprehensive social protection from multiple countries. We’re also grateful to Positron Advisors for their valuable strategic inputs,” added Co-founder Parul Seth Khanna.