Lendingkart was born in the Cloud: Manish Bhatia

Lendingkart is revolutionizing the MSME lending landscape with a powerful blend of technology and human expertise. The company's President of Technology, Analytics, and Capabilities, Manish Bhatia, shares insights into how AI and data are driving growth, enhancing customer experience, and navigating the complex fintech regulatory environment.

Discover the secret sauce behind Lendingkart's success as Bhatia discusses the company's journey, future plans, and the role of technology in empowering small businesses. Excerpt:

How have you leveraged AI and ML to transform underwriting and risk assessment processes?

Lendingkart was born in the cloud, which means 100% of all applications are sourced and disbursed digitally, and without having any retail stores. To support this, we have built capabilities which support distribution, origination, underwriting, compliance, loan servicing and collections. To support these capabilities, we harnessed the power of AI and ML to transform our underwriting and risk assessment processes.

By combining advanced algorithms and machine learning models we can analyze large amounts of data including non-traditional data sources to make more accurate lending decisions and introduce guardrails with image processing and fraud models. This method allows us to quickly analyze loans owned and made by small businesses accurately and reduces reliance on traditional credit scores and financial reporting.

Our AI-powered models are constantly learning and evolving, improving their predictive accuracy over time and enabling us to better serve our customers. Our biggest win today is that we’ve been able to scale this to work with multiple players in the Indian financial ecosystem, including some of the largest banks and NBFCs in the country and create the leading co-lending platform for MSMEs.

"Lendingkart is bridging the credit gap by providing fast, flexible, and affordable loans to small businesses."

What are the key trends shaping the future of the fintech industry, and how are you positioning itself to capitalizery & Business Environment?

Several key trends are shaping the future of the fintech industry. Receptiveness for digital finance is greater than ever before. There’s growth in embedded finance and an increase in awareness in underserved areas. Lendingkart is and will continue to focus on continual improvement of customer experience, and leverage its tech capabilities to expand its reach and speed of application processing.

While everyone, including us, has continued to make great strides in making access to finance simpler and quicker, we have only scratched the surface. MSMEs are the backbone of the Indian economy, with 64 million powering over 110 million jobs and contributing to around 27% of India’s GDP.

The credit penetration however is still 14%, and a credit gap that is pegged at Rs 25 trillion reflects the opportunity.

As an MSME finance specialist, we are poised perfectly to play a much larger and meaningful role powered by its experience of leveraging technology and data. We are India’s leading co-lending platform and are partnering with over 20+ banks and NBFCS to reach the last mile especially across growth markets.

How do you navigate the complex regulatory landscape in the fintech sector, and what strategies are in place to ensure compliance?

We always maintain the highest levels of compliance while delivering innovative financial solutions. It all begins with understanding the regulatory framework. As dynamic as the world of finance really is, more so with the advent of technology, we appreciate that regulations are frequently updated, stay on top in terms of being informed and adapt by making necessary amendments to our process and systems.

We have invested in comprehensive compliance management systems that include monitoring tools, audit trails, and reporting mechanisms to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements. We are leveraging on regulatory technology (RegTech) helps automate compliance processes, streamline reporting, and enhance transparency.

We always have and remain committed to implementing advanced cybersecurity measures to protect consumer data and comply with data protection regulations. Most importantly, we maintain open lines of communication with regulatory authorities to understand regulatory expectations and provide feedback on proposed changes. We also actively participate in industry forums and consultations that can also influence regulatory policies.

We also conduct regular training programs for our employees on compliance matters and ethical practices that are essential and have also set an effective grievance redressal mechanism for addressing consumer concerns.

Subsequently, we ensure transparency in communication with consumers about products, Key Fact Statement, charges, ROI, APR which helps us build trust and aligns with regulatory expectations for consumer protection. 

We have a dedicated Internal Audit team which conducts internal audits regularly which helps identify potential compliance gaps and assess the effectiveness of existing controls.

How does Lendingkart build and maintain customer trust in a rapidly evolving digital lending environment? What sets it apart from other fintech lenders in terms of product offerings or customer experience?

Building and maintaining customer trust is central to our business. We achieve this through transparency, data security and exceptional customer service. Our loan application process is designed to provide clear and concise information. We implement strict data security measures to protect customer information and ensure its confidentiality. Additionally, our customer support team is always available to help and quickly address any concerns. By always delivering on our promises and putting customers’ needs first we build trust and loyalty with our customers.

"More than 70% of our customer base now hails from Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities, with 40% from Tier 3 and 4 alone."

Because of our unique combination of advanced technology, data-driven decision-making, and customer-centric approach, we are able to disburse business loans easily, and quickly. We use AI and ML to deliver faster loan approvals. All our processes ensure a smooth and hassle-free customer experience from application to delivery. Our commitment to continuous innovation and excellence in customer service sets us apart in the fintech landscape. What makes us most unique is that we do all of this at scale in partnership with over 20+ lenders.

How are you expanding its market reach and targeting new customer segments?

We are always looking to expand our reach in underserved markets. By leveraging advanced data analytics and partnerships with some of the leading banks and NBFCs, we are addressing the unique financial needs of SMEs across tier 2,3 and 4 markets, with over 90% falling under the Priority Sector Lending criteria. In fact, more than 70% of our customer base now hails from Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities, with 40% from Tier 3 and 4 alone. This milestone not only underscores our commitment to driving financial inclusion but also highlights our significant growth and unwavering dedication to empowering the heart of Bharat with technology.

How do you foster a culture of innovation and risk-taking within Lendingkart’s technology team?

A culture of innovation and risk taking is key to success at Lendingkart. We encourage our technical team to experiment, explore new ideas and keep learning. This is facilitated through regular discussions, hackathons and training sessions. We also provide our team with the latest tools and technologies to inspire innovation. Our collaborative working environment encourages knowledge sharing and creative problem solving. We recognise and reward new efforts, we encourage our team to take calculated risks and push the boundaries of what is possible.