Meet Rohit Sen, the executive who sold his Ferrari to pursue a dream

This former Goldman Sachs top executive drives financial inclusion through his fintech firm NIRA

It is rare to find a person born and brought up in the United Kingdom, and holding professional degrees from institutes of excellence like Oxford University and London School of Economics (LSE), but coming to India for pursuing a dream. You would be in for a greater surprise if the area of work of this professional high-flyer were not related to high-profile segments like banking or private equity but financial inclusion. 

The cofounder of fintech startup NIRA Finance, Rohit Sen, is one example. After completing his graduation in Economics from Oxford University in 2002, Sen joined Citigroup as a summer analyst. But his quest for knowledge prompted him to complete his management education from LSE. After this, he worked in London for almost 12 years with marquee financial investment firms like Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs. "During that period, my responsibility was on the consumer credit side. However, I used to visit India a lot to meet my extended family. Every time I travelled here, I always sensed a business opportunity," says Sen, who is now in his mid-30s.

"I realised that 90 per cent of Indians were not able to get formal lending and, at the same time, internet connectivity was making deep inroads into the country with smartphones. So, I thought consumer credit was an area that I could work in."

Incidentally, London was also emerging as a fintech hub during this period and Sen's association with these fintech companies gave him the confidence to pursue this dream. So, he quit his job in 2015, sold his prized possession — a Ferrari car — and reached Bengaluru in January 2016, even as he knew nobody in this south Indian city. "I interacted with all stakeholders, from NBFCs to investors to consumers, and zeroed in on this idea." 

Started in March 2016 by Sen and Nupur Gupta, NIRA Finance works in a space where big financial institutions are scared to venture. It provides consumers with small-ticket loans ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 100,000 with a tenure of up to 12 months. "The salary level of our customers typically falls in the range of Rs 15,000 to Rs 40,000 a month. They usually work in the services industry. So, our target group comprises employees working in urban areas," Sen said.

Explaining his move to offer only small-ticket loans, he says personal loans offered by most banks typically start from Rs 100,000, and his company wanted to provide formal lending facilities to customers below that range. At present, the average loan size of this fintech startup stands at around Rs 20,000, for an average tenure of 9-10 months. "We have tied up with Federal bank, which provides us a lot of credibility in the market," Sen says.

Using his experience as a finance executive, Sen has also ensured that NIRA remains a technology-intensive company. When a customer applies for a loan, the risk assessment of the borrower is done through a model developed by his firm. For a person to be eligible for a loan, he must reach a designed threshold level. "We charge an interest rate of 1.5 to 2.5 per cent per month. But, how much interest rate will have to be paid depends on the risk profile of the borrower," Sen explains.

With a bad loan ratio of less than one per cent, NIRA Finance is currently operating in 10 cities and is planning to expand to newer cities in coming months. "We want to expand in Tier-II cities, as there are lots of opportunities in smaller cities," he says. So far, the three-year-old firm has raised only $1 million in funding from angel investors.

A top ranking finance executive like Sen, who had previously accomplished a lot professionally, India held a lot more promise than the financial hub of London. "There are so much of unmet needs here. The universe we work in is very vast in India. We just have to concentrate on building a sustainable business model," Sen concludes.