India, Aug. 23 -- 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, fr...