Here's How This Lending Start-up Keeps SMEs AfloatThe first lenders the company identified were sellers on ecommerce platforms like Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal.

SASHANK RISHYASRINGA (35) AND GAURAV HINDUJA (36); CO-FOUNDERS, CAPITAL FLOAT

Rishyasringa and Hinduja went to business school together and returned to India in 2012. Prior to that, Hinduja had sold his previous company and Rishyasringa was in New York working at McKinsey. Coming from different backgrounds, they were looking at bunch of interesting ideas and both found ideas around small and medium enterprises lending to be interesting. "The question that really bothered us was if you can order a product online, get a cab in a few seconds, make payment, get tickets etc., then why can't you access financial products in a similar way. Challenge we set was 'ecommerceifying' the experience of buying," says Rishyasringa. They set a milestone when they started providing loans to kirana stores in less than 90 seconds through mobile transaction. It was made possible through a combination of analytics and convergence around mobile and being real time. The first lenders the company identified were sellers on ecommerce platforms like Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal. "When we started, nobody was lending to ecommerce. We were the first one to enter this space," shares Hinduja.

Talking about the future of fintech, for which they are looking for collaborations, Rishyasringa says, "We are partnering with several financial intuitions. IDFC bank, RBL Bank and Tata Capital are co-lending with us. We pioneered the model of bankfintech collaboration in India." Currently, the challenge is to balance growth with risk together. "We are doubling our portfolio every year. Our NPA is two per cent. We continue to makes sure that we pull this off well," he adds. The aim is to add three lakh customers this financial year.

ENBALING SMEs

启动:2013在班加罗尔

HEADCOUNT: 585

GROWTH: Customer base up by 30k; 700% growth over last year

CUSTOMER PRESENCE: 300+ cities; 200% increase over last year

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT: Rs 950 crore, 150% up over last year

TOTAL INVESTMENT: $87m equity, $110m debt