Our primary focus is small markets, mainly villages: Mahindra MF CEO

There are over 300,000 villages where Mahindra Finance and its subsidiaries lend money, said Mahindra MF CEO

Mahindra Mutual Fund, the latest entrant in the 42-player MF industry, has set an objective to take mutual funds to rural areas.  In an interview with Jash Kriplani, Ashutosh Bishnoi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra MF, shares various challenges and opportunities as his firm explores uncharted territory. Edited excerpts:
 
What made the Mahindra group enter the mutual fund business?
 
We looked at the asset management business way back in 2008, but put it off as we wanted to stay focused on the non-banking financial company (NBFC) space, which was fast-growing. In 2011, we evaluated the banking