While many lenders are willing to provide loans to employees of listed companies to buy ESOP shares, funding is a challenge when it comes to unlisted companies. This is because the security in such loans are the shares and it is difficult to monetise shares of unlisted companies. ESOPDhan has worked around this problem by developing its own model for the valuation of shares, which could be different from the valuation in the last round of funding. Second, the company does its own appraisal of the preparedness of the promoters to get listed in the next three years.
ESOPDhan has an NBFC licence under the name of Esposue Capital. The NBFC has been newly incorporated and registered with the RBI with the objective of funding ESOPs. So far, ESOPDhan has a Rs 20-crore loan book extended to 15 India-based employees of two US-based tech companies.