How the Resolve to Solve Cash Crunch in the Economy Led to the Birth of this Start-up Entrepreneur India interacts with Instamojo CEO and Co-founder, Sampad Swain on his plans and how this dive into the fintech sector to solve the problem of "cash crunch" in the economy looks for him
By Bhavya Kaushal •
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India is slowly grasping the fintech atmosphere that has blanketed the world. While cryptocurrencies and blockchain remain an ambiguous territory to venture into, India has embraced fintech and the order of digital payments.
The story doesn't start or end at the prospect of India embracing digital payments. Indians are on the threshold of ushering a new phase wherein disruptive, innovative ideas and concept are bursting in the fintech sector. And the investors, too, are seeing the potential in Indian fintech start-ups
Bengaluru-based fintech company Instamojo is the latest to join the bandwagon by bagging a funding of USD 7 million in Series B round led by Japanese company AnyPay.
Entrepreneur India interacts with Instamojo CEO and Co-founder, Sampad Swain on his plans and how this dive into the fintech sector to solve the problem of "cash crunch" in the economy looks for him.
Cash Crunch
The Indian economy has been facing the problem of cash crunch says Swain, this holds especially true for the MSME sector that has been struggling for long. The problem doesn't end here. In a digital age such as the one in which we are living, when IoT and AI have caught the fancy of the Indian start-up ecosystem and so many competitors and new disruptive ideas are emerging every day, Swain feels staying relevant is the biggest challenge of the ecosystem.
Cash crunch and disrupting the fintech sector in a dynamic and digitally relevant environment are two things Swain aims to solve. "Through our lending and logistics services, along with the presence on the mobile app, we aim to solve these roadblocks towards the growth of the MSME sector."
Swain feels that the funding will help them expand operations. Most essentially, it will help them in building a mobile app and hiring workforce. He said, "Currently all our products and services available on the website are not present on the mobile app. By making all our products/ services available on the app, this will only make business smoother and more efficient for MSMEs." He also adds that this is a platform which will work as knowledge exchange and networking ground for all Instamojo merchants across the country.
Mobile for MSMEs
Instamojo is built on the foundation of three key principles- payments, lending and e-commerce. With MSMEs being the cusp of all activities and endeavours of Instamojo, Swain declares that for him, 2019 is the year of the "mobile for MSMEs'. "The mobile platform, we are aiming to build will digitally empower the MSMEs of India."
The plans for this year are set for Swain. This year they are planning to launch 3 new products. He says "MojoCapital, which is our lending arm, along with 2 specialized services (Surface shipping and Intra-city shipping) under MojoXpress, which is our logistics arm. By FY'20, we are looking at a 5x growth as an organization and an increase in merchant headcount from 6.5 lakh to 1.5 million."
This year seems interesting; they already had a great start to the year. Swain signs off by sharing what keeps him in focus. "While descriptions of the company's future plans, dream team and growth projections may seem too exciting to talk about, one should never lose focus on the market opportunities."
