New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS): There is good news for Zomato's restaurant partners as the food-tech unicorn on Monday said it has entered into a strategic partnership with fintech lender InCred for "hassle-free" credit facilities.

The food delivery industry was one of the worst-affected segments during the pandemic with its Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) falling short of the pre-COVID levels.

"While the food delivery business has made a strong comeback, overall food service industry is still far from reaching pre-Covid levels. We have been working on many initiatives to boost its recovery and one such is our partnership with InCred," Rakesh Ranjan, Chief Sales Officer, Zomato, said in a statement.

"It will help our restaurant partners with easy, risk-free credit options designed to achieve their operational and bottom-line goals."

The InCred-zomato tie-up aims to extend financial assistance to cash-strapped businesses for meeting their business growth and working capital needs.

InCred offers tech-driven credit services to its customers that are time-efficient and cost-effective.

"The COVID-19 outbreak has led to a sharp decrease in footfall, order volume, and bucket size within the food services segment. In this context, platforms such as zomato have emerged as a true game-changer by enabling physical businesses to recover seamlessly," said Saurabh Jhalaria, CEO (SME Business), InCred.

"We are happy to join hands with zomato and are confident that it will further aid the economic recovery of the vertical."

Apart from its SME loans which comprises working capital loans, term loans, and channel finance, the product portfolio of InCred also includes personal loans -- wedding loans, medical loans, and travel loans -- and education loans.