axio: Making Credit Worthy For All

Episode Description

In Episode 11 of Summit Series, Mridul Arora (Partner, Elevation Capital) speaks to Gaurav Hinduja and Sashank Rishyasringa, co-founders of Axio (formerly, Capital Float) on their journey of building India's leading consumer finance company offering BNPL, credit, and personal finance management under one seamless brand experience. On a mission to make credit worthy for all, Axio leverages technology to deliver innovative financial products to millions of individuals across the country, including vast sections of traditionally under-served consumers.

Axio started in 2014 as a digital lender for SMEs in India. The team understood that technology could be leveraged to solve multiple problems that traditional lenders faced: the high cost of small-ticket lending, difficulty in acquiring customers and underwriting them, and managing cashflows. While the original thesis focused on SMEs, the team started to see a stronger opportunity in the consumer segment and started working on some initiatives to validate the same in 2018. Witnessing faster and more efficient growth, the company decided to focus completely on the consumer segment thereafter.

Listen to Gaurav & Sashank as they talk about the initial thesis, the switch to consumer lending, nuances of BNPL in India, organizational & operational strengths built, Axio’s approach to consumer credit, and the vision for the company going forward.

Episode Summary:

00:22 - Introduction to Axio

02:30 - Initial thesis and the framework to narrow down on it

05:35 - Transition to focusing on consumer segment and related nuances

09:27 - Outlining the consumer credit opportunity in India and how it is different from the West

12:50 - Organizational and operating model choices

17:40 - What differentiates Axio from its peers in terms of its approach to consumer credit

20:50 - Key learnings for founders starting in FinTech today

29:13 - Long-term vision for axio