The financial services sector is the backbone of an emerging market like India. It is also one of the biggest generators of alpha for investors historically. And key players in banking, non-banking finance, insurance, microfinance, asset and wealth management have kept the space vibrant with strong organic as well as inorganic expansion.
On the flip side, at a time when the clouds of a slowing economy were overshadowing the growth opportunity, the pandemic-induced lockdown has exacerbated the pain. Lenders and asset managers are facing more asset-quality concerns as companies feel the pinch of an unprecedented contraction of the economy, smaller firms face an uncertain future and the spectre of job cuts threatens retail spending and borrowing. Fintech startups are reassessing their business models to create a sustainable venture and companies at large are seeing how to hardwire systems to ensure data security and privacy to maintain trust with customers.
The financial services sector has been trying to cross the hurdles with innovative products to better channel household savings and surplus corporate income, improve processes, weigh the asset-liability mismatch and evaluate corporate underwriting methods with the help of technology. It also aims to grow the retail book, improve efficiency as well as risk management and compliance, diversify product catalogue, cross-sell products and use technology to screen borrowers. The sector remains attractive, having absorbed over $45 billion of private equity money over the last two decades. This accounts for around a sixth of total private investments in the country, according to VCCEdge, the data research platform of Mosaic Digital. It received more than $7 billion in the past 12 months alone and has seen M&As worth a similar amount in the same period. Although the pace of investment activity has slowed in the last quarter it is expected to pick up again as the long-term picture remains attractive.
To gauge how the firms are adjusting to the new normal, reimagining their tech stack and creating a stronger base to leverage the growth opportunity, VCCircle is organising its next edition of FinServ Summit on September 25, 2020 on a virtual platform.
by Shalil Gupta, CBO, Mosaic Digital
By Dipak Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank
The pandemic has acted as yet another propeller for digital delivery of financial services. How are banks, insurers and wealth management firms adjusting to the new normal? At what stage of digital adoption are various stakeholders and what’s the way forward?
Speakers:
Manish Shah, EVP-Digital Channels, Kotak Mahindra Bank
Ashutosh Singh, CEO, NSDL Payments Bank
Naveen Bachwani, COO, Aegon Life Insurance
Anthony Esthakku, Head of Products, Payments & Platform, DBS Bank
Moderator: Bruhadeeswaran R, Assistant Editor, VCCircle
Ranjani Raghavan, Associate Editor, VCCircle in conversation with Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, MD & CEO, Bandhan Bank
What started as one large NBFC’s asset-liability mismatch has spread to other shadow banks. What are the broader changes that the industry needs at a macro level and what could be the micro interventions required to stem the malaise?
Speakers:
V.P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO, Manappuram Finance Limited
T T Srinivasaraghavan, MD, Sundaram Finance Limited
Manish Jaiswal, MD & CEO of Magma Housing Finance & SME Business, Magma Fincorp Limited
Umesh Revankar, MD & CEO, Shriram Transport Finance Company Limited
Moderator: Beena Parmar, Special Correspondent, VCCircle
Not all business models are working out for the fledgling but superhot fintech startups in the country. Can partnering offline lenders with a co-lending model be the future of digital-first NBFCs?
Speakers:
Sashank Rishyasringa, Co-founder & MD, Capital Float
Ashneer Grover, CEO & Co-founder, BharatPe
Ashish Kashyap, Founder & MD, IndWealth
Moderator: Joseph Rai, Special Correspondent, VCCircle
MSMEs are the backbone of India's economy by contributing to nearly 50% of exports, 30% of the national GDP, and providing local employment to over 120 million people. There is a noticeable divide between new-age lenders and traditional lenders in how they serve the MSME entrepreneurs. Post-Covid, economic recovery of the nation depends on easing credit flow to the MSMEs for this diverse segment who are at different levels of adaptability. The way forward can only be achieved successfully by blending digital with a high-touch model, thus bridging Bharat and India.
Shalil Gupta, CBO, Mosaic Digital in conversation with Hardika Shah, Founder & CEO, Kinara Capital
This year along with the VCCircle FinServ Summit, we are introducing 2 additional FinServ Digital Masterclasses which will be organized on the following dates:
FINSERV DIGITAL MASTERCLASS 1
SME financing: As alarm bells ring, can technology solve some problems?
September 15, 2020
09:30 am – 10:30 am
By R N Iyer, Founder & CEO, Vayana Network
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09:00 - 09:20 Hrs
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Registration
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09:25 - 09:30 Hrs.
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Opening Address
By Shalil Gupta, CBO, Mosaic Digital
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09:30 - 10:10 Hrs.
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Keynote Address: SME financing-As alarm bells ring, can technology solve some problems?
Lending to SMEs moved from the hottest game in town to a hot potato in the aftermath of the pandemic-induced lockdown. What are the silver linings in the field and can technology help lenders alleviate future pain points? By R N Iyer, Founder & CEO, Vayana Network |
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10:10 - 10:30 Hrs.
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Fireside Chat
Shalil Gupta, CBO, Mosaic Digital in conversation with R N Iyer, Founder & CEO, Vayana Network |
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10:30 Hrs.
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Closing
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FINSERV DIGITAL MASTERCLASS 2
Securing the virtual banking arena while reaching the next billion
September 18, 2020
09:30 am – 10:30 am
By Vipin Surelia, Chief Risk Officer-India & South Asia, Visa
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09:00 - 09:20 Hrs
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Registration
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09:25 - 09:30 Hrs.
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Opening Address
By Shalil Gupta, CBO, Mosaic Digital
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09:30 - 10:10 Hrs.
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Keynote Address: Securing the virtual banking arena while reaching the next billion
The digital world throws its own challenges in terms of cybercrimes, data privacy concerns and more. How are banks and other stakeholders in the financial services domain building the firewall of trust and security? By Vipin Surelia, Chief Risk Officer-India & South Asia, Visa |
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10:10 - 10:30 Hrs.
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Fireside Chat
Shalil Gupta, CBO, Mosaic Digital in conversation with Vipin Surelia, Chief Risk Officer-India & South Asia, Visa |
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10:30 Hrs.
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Closing
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Dipak Gupta is a whole-time director on the board of Kotak Mahindra Bank and is designated Joint Managing Director. He is also a part of the Group Management Council that drives Kotak Mahindra Group’s growth charter.
Dipak helms numerous functions including Compliance, Vigilance, Internal Audit, Human Resources, IT including Cyber Security, Digital Initiatives, Customer Experience, Marketing & Communications, Environment Social Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Dipak has played a key role in building various businesses for Kotak Mahindra Group. He was instrumental in forging the partnership between Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd (KMFL) and Ford Credit International. He was the first CEO of the KMFL–Ford Credit joint venture, Kotak Mahindra Primus Limited.
Dipak was appointed as Executive Director of Kotak Mahindra Finance Limited (which got the banking license in April 2003 to become Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited) in 1999. Dipak was also responsible for setting up the retail business following the conversion of KMFL into a bank.
Prior to joining Kotak in 1992, Dipak worked with the consultancy division of A.F. Ferguson.
Dipak is a graduate in Electronics Engineering from IIT, Varanasi and a post-graduate in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA).
Hardika Shah is the Founder & CEO of Kinara Capital, a socially conscious FinTech that is powering the financial inclusion of small business entrepreneurs in India.
While studying at Columbia Business School, Hardika was highly motivated to address the missing middle credit gap for MSMEs that stifles entrepreneurship in India, the land of jugaad. The success of the business school pilot became the genesis of her journey into social entrepreneurship and she wrapped up her life in Silicon Valley and headed to Bangalore to build Kinara Capital.
Prior to launching Kinara, Hardika had built a storied career in Management Consulting with Accenture and worked on complex projects across multiple industries and countries. She still made time to serve as a pro-bono mentor for many years at top social entrepreneurship programs at Santa Clara University, Stanford University, Columbia University, Accenture Development Partnerships and the Acumen Fund.
Globally recognized for her passion and innovative approach, Hardika is a notable Ashoka Fellow, won the Financial Inclusion Award by Sankalp Forum, and won the People’s Choice Award at Wall Street Journal’s Financial Inclusion event.Hardika holds a B.A. in Computer Science from Knox College in Illinois. She earned her MBA from a joint program with Columbia Business School and UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business.
Mr. Umesh Govind Revankar holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Mangalore University and MBA in Finance. He has attended Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. Mr. Revankar started his career with Shriram Group as an Executive Trainee in the year 1987.He is with Shriram group for the last 33 years and possesses extensive experience in the financial services industry.
During his stint with the Shriram Group, he has shouldered various responsibilities and worked in several key roles of business operations.
Mr.Srinivasaraghavan is a graduate in Commerce and holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Gannon University, Pennsylvania.
He began his career as a banker, before moving to Sundaram Finance Limited in 1983. Starting his career as a department manager in the company, he was elevated as its Managing Director in 2003.
Mr.Srinivasaraghavan has over 40 years of experience in the banking and financial services sector and is associated with leading trade related organisations including the International Finance and Leasing Association, UK, of which he is a past President. He is a past Chairman of Equipment Leasing Association (India) and Finance Industry Development Council, the Self Regulatory Organisation for Asset Financing NBFCs. He has served on various Committees constituted by the RBI on NBFC related matters.
Mr.Srinivasaraghavan serves as a Director on the Boards of several companies. He is also a Past President of the 180 year old Madras Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Mr Srinivasaraghavan was ranked among India's Top 100 CEOs, for three years in succession, 2013 and 2014 & 2015 in the Business Today- PWC rankings and was conferred the Baroda Sun Achievement Award for Leadership, in 2018.
A keen sportsman, Mr.Srinivasaraghavan is widely travelled and has an avid interest in photography.
Mr. V.P. Nandakumar is the MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd., one of India’s leading NBFCs and the pioneer of the institutionalised model of the gold loans business. Mr. Nandakumar took over the reins of a single location family business in 1986, and over the next three decades presided over its growth and transformation into a financial sector powerhouse. His vision, values and leadership were instrumental in scripting this story that today touches millions of lives in India.
Manappuram’s origins go back to 1949 when it was founded by the late V.C. Padmanabhan, father of Mr. Nandakumar. In those days, the firm was into money lending, and pawnbroking carried out on a modest scale at Valapad, a backward coastal village in Thrissur district of Kerala. Having taken over the family business in 1986 (the year his father passed away), Mr. Nandakumar soon set about expanding the footprint of the firm in line with his vision to become a player of substance.
In 1992, he incorporated Manappuram Finance Ltd. and within three years, in 1995, the company went in for its IPO and got listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Since then, he has led the company from the front to its current status of a leading NBFC having a pan-India presence with 4,616 branches across 28 states and UTs, with Assets under management (AUM) of about ?25,300 crore, and employing over 26,000 people.
In recent years, Mr. Nandakumar has resolutely steered the company’s diversification into microfinance, home loans, vehicle finance, SME and personal lending to reshape the company into a full-spectrum NBFC. Today, one-third of the company’s total business comes from non-gold businesses.
Mr. Nandakumar’s achievements in business have earned him national recognition. On May 26, 2018, a special issue of the Business World magazine profiled him as one among 40 of India’s most valuable CEOs. Besides, Manappuram Finance Ltd. has emerged as one of the leading wealth creators in the Indian stock market. In December 2019, the Economic Times newspaper published the ET500 list of Top Wealth Creators of 2019 with Manappuram Finance Ltd. as the chart topper.
Other than the focus on business, the cause of the wider community is central to his vision. He established the Manappuram Foundation at Valapad in 2009 to drive the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme of the Manappuram group, even before the Companies Act made it mandatory. Today, the Manappuram Foundation oversees a wide range of projects in education, health care, and overall development of the rural communities.
Mr. V.P. Nandakumar was born in 1954, holds a post-graduate degree in science and additional qualifications in Banking and Foreign Trade. He is a managing committee member of leading trade and industry associations such as FICCI, Assocham and FIDC. In January 2019, he was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. In July 2019, he was elected as an International Director of the Association of Lions Clubs International at its Milan (Italy) convention.
Mr. Manish Jaiswal is the MD & CEO of Magma’s Housing Finance and SME Business. He is a Mechanical Engineer from VNIT, Nagpur and has done his Fast Track General Management from IIM, Bangalore.
Mr. Jaiswal has deep sectoral experience of 28 years. In his last assignment, he led CRISIL’s businesses of Risk Advisory, Research and SME and Ratings. Mr Jaiswal has been an eminent member of SEBI committee of Corporate Bonds and Securitization Advisory Committee (CoBoSAC) & RBI’s Committee of Revitalisation of Distressed Assets. He has also advised the primary pension funds of the country EPFO & PFRDA.
In his prior stints, Mr Jaiswal has set up Emerging Local Corporates and SME Banking in Citigroup. He pioneered the first of its kind SME Banking alliance between Fullerton & Centurion Bank of Punjab. Mr Jaiswal started his career with Eicher Motors and has held key positions in the companies in the BFSI sector over last two decades.
During his career span, Mr. Jaiswal has built and managed assets of more than 25,000 crores and has been involved in SME ratings of over 150,000 entities
Mr. Naveen Bachwani is the Chief Operating Officer at Aegon Life. He is a cross-functional Business Leader with more than two decades of experience in Customer Engagement and Digital Transformation. Much of his career has been focused on bridging the gap between Enterprise and Customer, through solutions based in Technology, Process and Communication Design. His previous assignment was with Edelweiss Financial Services as Group Head – Customer Experience. Prior to that, he has also held leadership assignments with industry leaders like the ICICI Group, Times of India, Experian and others.
Naveen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from St. Xavier’s, Mumbai, and an MBA in Marketing from K.J. Somaiya, Mumbai.
Sashank Rishyasringa co-founded Capital Float, a digital lending company in 2013. Under his direction, the company has grown to become the largest digital lender in India. With him as Managing Director, the company has pioneered technological innovations which have altered the lending landscape in the country. Prior to co-founding Capital Float, Sashank was a Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where he advised several Fortune 500 companies, national governments, and non-profits on business strategy, product innovation, and organizational design. He possesses an extensive understanding of the global Fintech space and has prior experience in investments, financial inclusion and mobile technology from his time at McKinsey. Sashank holds an MBA from Stanford University and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Princeton University by specializing in Economics and Finance.
Ashneer Grover is an accomplished executive with over 14 years of experience in operations, M&A, investments and business development and has a strong strategic foresight, drive, and determination for both start-ups and top tier organizations. He is a result-oriented and decisive leader with proven success in new market identification and strategic positioning to establish successful multi-million-dollar start-ups.
Ashneer is currently building the largest offline merchant network in India by making mobile payments acceptance free and ubiquitous: Within the span of 2 years of operations, BharatPe has become the driving force, leading digital payments among merchants in the country. It is the first UPI interoperable QR code, ZERO MDR payment acceptance service, and UPI payment backed merchant cash advances. BharatPe enables the acceptance of UPI payments for Indian merchants from 150+ UPI payment apps in India through proprietary QRs, charging zero transaction fees thus helping digitize the Indian payments one kirana shop at a time.
Before creating his impressive track record of building efficient financial operations, Ashneer, an IIM- Ahmedabad graduate has been a rankholder (Rank 2) in IIT- Delhi. Ashneer has also worked as the Vice President for Kotak Investment Banking
closing 10 Deals of transaction value worth US$ 3 billion. Then, he headed Corporate Development at American Express for India and led Series - B investment in a payments company, MobiKwik. As the Chief Financial Officer at Grofers, Ashneer not only built Grofers along with the founders - Albinder and Saurabh, but also took complete onus for the financial strategy and structuring operations of the company. He led the efforts to raise over US $170M from the likes of Softbank, Tiger, Sequoia and Yuri Milner, in a matter of just 9 months. This helped make Grofers one of the top two e-grocery platforms in the country. Working with the second-largest Jewellery retailer in India, Ashneer consolidated e-commerce operations for PCJ under a single brand. He did this by setting the company up for the next phase of consumer experience-driven growth and diversifying into adjacent businesses
Having built a career that stems in uncovering opportunities that drive aggressive growth, Ashneer is driven to build ground-breaking financial solutions for the Indian economy through his FinTech venture in Bharatpe.
Ashish is a serial entrepreneur. His latest venture, INDmoney is a personal finance platform with a mission to "improve people's financial lives". INDmoney automatically organises a user's money and recommends actions to increase savings and earnings across investments, loans & expenses and taxes. Launched in 2019, INDmoney is backed by Tiger Global, Steadview & Dragoneer. Recently, CBinsights named INDmoney as one of the world's top 250 FinTech startups. Previously Founded ibibo (Goibibo & redBus), India's leading online travel group. ibibo was acquired by MMYT in October 2016, one of largest exits in the Indian internet space. Also Founded ibibo-Pay/ PayU India, leading FinTech payments platform.
Ashish is the Winner of 2017 Naspers Founder Award, Linkedin Power Profile 2017, Exhibit 100 Tech Indians, The Economic Times : Promising Entrepreneurs Of India (2015) and Top 100 powerful Digital Mavens of India 2012 & 2013.
R N Iyer, Founder & CEO of Vayana Network, is a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years in the Cash and Trade space providing solutions to some of the largest Banks across the globe. At Vayana Network, over the past decade, Ram has lead the company’s vision to democratise access to affordable finance to MSMEs. Previously, he was the co-founder and CEO of CashTech Solutions a leading Cash Management vendor in Asia which was acquired by Nasdaq listed Fundtech (now a part of Finastra Group). R N Iyer has previously worked with Accenture in their management consulting division. He is a management graduate from IIM Ahmedabad and an Engineer from Mumbai University. R N Iyer provides leadership in Business & Technology strategy and global Product development processes.
Ashutosh Singh is C.A. and M.B.A. with invaluable experience of starting new businesses and taking them to industry leading positions, setting up processes and optimizing costs through innovation and digital initiatives. Over the years, he has built a successful track record of delivering on key business metrics of Market Share Growth and Profitability, always in the process enhancing the Customer journey through all touch points.
Channel Management and Team management have been a forte as evidenced by a successful career in collaborating and creating symbiotic partnerships with PSU banks such as SBI and private sector banks such as Axis.
He has been scratch building and scaling Digital and Offline businesses, with efficient designing and implementation of robust processes and team building.
Working with regulators, external vendors, Channel Partners, internal IT , Operations and Compliance teams to deliver on new business opportunities. This spans the stages from identifying the opportunity, all the way through to Go Live.
Some of his notable achievements are:-
Manish is part of the core team that drives Kotak Mahindra Bank’s digital-first banking strategy and leads the team that manages the bank’s digital channel initiatives across mobile and internet banking.
Since 2012, Manish has led the implementation of key digital banking initiatives related to the Kotak mobile banking app, net banking and conversational banking, including the launch of the AI-powered Keya chatbot and WhatsApp Banking.
He has experience of over two decades in the digital and financial services sector. Prior to joining Kotak, Manish worked with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Apnaloan.com and GE Plastics.
Manish is an engineer and has completed his MBA from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
Vipin Surelia is Visa’s Head of Risk Services for India and South Asia and holds the responsibility of championing security in the industry and maintaining the integrity of the payments ecosystem. This complex and fast evolving ecosystem includes issuing and acquiring clients, merchants, cardholders, and service providers such as processors, device manufacturers and payment gateways. Reporting to Visa’s Regional Risk Officer, he is also responsible for strategic risk management for the business, credit settlement risk, brand protection, fraud management and data security across the South Asia market.
Vipin joined Visa in 2018. Prior to this, he was Chief Risk and Compliance Officer for Paytm Payments Bank, and a part of founding team of the bank. He has previously been the Head of Products at National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and has also worked with Reserve Bank of India, IBM and HSBC.
He holds MBA and Engineering degrees and lives in Mumbai. In his spare time, He pursues his interests in reading and cooking.
Anthony Esthakku is the Head of Products, Payments & Platform, leading the liability and digital products, payment solutions and digital platforms at DBS Bank India. He carries a rich working experience of over 2 decades across diverse areas like Banking, Payments, Finance & Technology where he led various strategic digital payment products like Mobile wallets, NFC payments and e-Commerce implementation, Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, Debit & Prepaid Cards.
Previously, he has worked with leading institutions like Aditya Birla Payments Bank, National Payments Corporation of India-RuPay (India’s own domestic payment scheme), Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Anthony holds a Post Graduate Management degree from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), one of the premier management institutes in India.
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