Iran Renter; A platform to facilitate shopping

Iran Renter One of the lovely startups these days in Iran’s startup ecosystem, which has been well received by users. One of the major problems of the banking system is the lack of transparency in the lending system, which includes commodity loans; Where sometimes profiteers get loans using fake invoices. Landtech They prevent such abuses by providing smart solutions.

Of course, this is only a part of Landtec’s activities. We went to Amir Haq Ranjbar, the CEO of Iran Renter, to have a chat with Iran Renter startup, which is one of the active fintech startups in Iran. Startup And Iran Renter’s working method to have I invite you to read this interview.

First, introduce yourself and tell about Iran Renter.

I am Amir Haq Ranjbar, one of the co-founders and CEO of Iran Renter. Iran Renter started its activity in 1994 and during this time the model Business It has changed several times; Iran Renter was first an idea in the field of equipment rental, and the name Iran Renter is also left from this model; After that, it became rental and the possibility of ownership, and then “sale of goods in installments”.

After that, from the beginning of 1998, the sale of goods in installments was removed, and currently users can rent from 100 online stores in Iran in installments from websites such as Digikala in the field of goods, Bimah Bazar in the field of insurance, Sojam 24 and Sefarmi in the field of Travel, wrenches and license plates in the field of services and in the period of 12 months without check and guarantor and buy online.

On the other side too investor Some provide installment purchase capital and provide credit, and in the meantime, Iran Renter is an intermediary between the buyer and the investor.

What is the income model of Iran Renter?

The business has a certain profit margin, which is a combination of two revenue models: one is the fee that the store pays, which can be as low as zero, and the other is interest on installments that the customer pays. It is possible that a store does not pay any commission and in this case we only earn money from the customer, but if the store pays a commission, the interest in installments will also be lower for it.

How do you see the fintech situation in the ecosystem?

Iran Renter as a startup in the field fintech And part of this ecosystem and since Iran’s fintechs are mostly in the field of payment and other fields have been less addressed, Iran Renter has presented a new field called Landtech from this sector.

We see one of our responsibilities in creating the LandTech field so that new startups can enter it; Because one of the problems of the current economy is the “low purchasing power of the people” and the more credit purchase conditions are eased, the economy will come out of recession.

In the fintech ecosystem, one of the challenges that exist, in addition to the repetition of ideas, is the discussion of legislation; Since the field of fintech has a lot to do with the economy and society, it is completely different from other fields, and it is natural that legislative bodies show a high sensitivity to this field.

So far, 16 security institutions from different fields have been in contact with us, and one of the challenges in my opinion is the lack of legal frameworks. does not have.

Is there a startup similar to Iran Renter in the world? And do you intend to expand it to international areas as well?

Iran Renter is a combination of two business models in the world. one peer to peer lending which is better known as lending club and we have many startups in this field; In this type of business model, users borrow through the platform, but this type of model cannot be implemented in Iran due to religious and legal issues. There is another business model called pose lending that gives credit to users at the point of purchase. Iran Renter is a combination of these two.

Is this business model legitimate?

This issue is not only Iran Renter’s weakness, but also its strength; We also have appeals from two imitation authorities regarding its Shariah and legality, and by the way, Iran Renter is an obstacle for the transactions of Syrian banks. Because when you receive a loan from the bank, you may spend it on other issues, but Iran Renter is a platform for buying and selling, and its business logic is based on the installment sale of goods, which does not have the problem of usury or Sharia.

Where do you get your funding from?

Iran Renter has more than 1500 real investors who provide credit for installment purchases.

How willing are investors to take this risk at the rate you set?

The difference between Iran Renter and the bank is that this platform is based on installment sales, and the investor, in the role of an installment seller, gives a product to the buyer, and Iran Renter takes the monthly installments and gives them to the investor, and it is slightly different from the bank’s performance. The rate of Iran Renter is 3% fixed monthly and on the other hand, the profit that goes to investors is attractive for them because they do not get such profit from banks.

Of course, we are not too happy about the high rate because this pressure is on the buyer and we are doing our best to transfer their activity to the platform through cooperation with banks so that facilities are provided at a lower rate.

How do you get credit from the buyer?

For the first purchase, the buyer uploads information such as: occupation, residence, identity and pictures of the documents on the site, and the card along with the contract and promissory note are delivered to the buyer for signature; But for subsequent purchases, it is treated based on the credit score and according to the previous purchases.

How did you enter the field of advertising?

42% of our customers find us through referrals. We have not used many advertising methods so far and our focus is to get input from Google, referral, Google Ads and Instagram.

Do you have domestic competitors?

There are stores that sell goods in installments, but we do not have a service that allows users to buy from different stores.

Do you have a plan for product development?

Yes. Recently, we added 5 big cities to the platform and soon we will go to other cities and by the end of 2018 we will cover all the cities of Iran; In the next step, we decided to optimize the purchase process and make it possible for them to shop with stores that are not parties to the Iran Renter contract.

How do you see the future of Landtech?

Landtechs can be successful in Iran’s economic market, especially in small loans, and it is enough for banks to cooperate in this area and for legislators not to obstruct.

How many investment rounds have you had so far?

So far, we have had three rounds of fundraising from SmartUp, Lotus and Barkat Foundation, which for some reason we bought back their shares after some time, and currently the shares of Iran Renter are 100% with the entrepreneurial team, and currently due to 50% monthly growth, we do not intend to attract capital.

Do you foresee an IPO someday?

Yes; Many startups in this field have been IPO’d in the world, but it takes time and this issue is not one of our priorities at the moment.

Do you have a plan to face credit and financial risks?

We have a risk management committee that deals with each risk differently; For example, one of the risks is “non-payment of installments”, in this regard, the buyer must pay the first installment early, and the investor will receive his first installment one month later, and this means that if the buyer pays the next installment later , the investor’s money will be paid by the hedge fund. “Credit score” also encourages buyers to pay their installments on time.