BANKIT, a fintech company focused on financial inclusion, has officially rebranded as FindiBANKIT. The change follows the company’s acquisition earlier this year by FINDI Ltd., an Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: FND) listed entity, through its Indian subsidiary Transaction Solutions International (India) Pvt. Ltd.
The rebranding aligns BANKIT with the FINDI group and signals an expansion in service offerings. In addition to its existing digital and assisted financial services, the company will now also offer White Label ATM deployments and Banking Correspondent services in partnership with various banks.
Commenting on the rebranding, Amit Nigam, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer, FindiBANKIT, said, “The transition from BANKIT to FindiBANKIT is not just a change in name, it marks our evolution into a more powerful, integrated platform. In addition to our trusted digital and assisted services, we are now positioned to offer White Label ATMs and Banking Correspondent services of various leading banks to our merchants, further empowering underserved communities across India. Our goal remains unchanged. We will continue to deliver simple, secure, and inclusive financial access to every Indian, regardless of geography”.
FindiBANKIT’s offerings currently include Domestic Money Transfer, Aadhaar-enabled Payments, MicroATM, Prepaid Cards, Mobile and DTH Recharge, Bharat Bill Pay, Insurance, Travel & Stay, and Cash Management Services (CMS). The new services, added post-acquisition, include Findi-branded White Label ATMs and extended banking correspondent partnerships.
The company operates through a network of over 2 lakh retail outlets, covering 15,000+ pin codes across 28 Indian states. With this expanded service scope, the rebranded entity aims to strengthen financial access in rural and semi-urban areas.
The move is part of FINDI Ltd.’s broader strategy to enhance ATM and financial service infrastructure in India. Through FindiBANKIT, the group is integrating digital payments, last-mile banking, and ATM networks to reach underserved regions with essential financial services.
In this insightful interaction with Amit Nigam, Executive Director of BANKIT, he discusses the company’s mission to bridge India’s financial divide and its innovative approach to supporting unbanked communities. Nigam explains how BANKIT utilises an agent network to offer services like AePS, micro ATMs, and bill payments while handling challenges such as geographic isolation and digital illiteracy. He sheds light on the role of Big Data Analytics in refining operations and ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations. Nigam also shares BANKIT’s future plans to expand its reach and enhance financial inclusion across underserved areas.
StartupTalky: What does BANKIT do and how does it serve the unbanked population in India?
Mr. Nigam: BANKIT has emerged as a pioneering FinTech startup with a mission to bridge the fintech divide in India. Recognizing the significant gap in financial access for rural and marginalized populations, the company has developed a strategic approach to democratize digital financial services. By understanding the unique challenges faced by unbanked communities, BANKIT has built an ecosystem that goes beyond traditional banking models.
Our innovative solution focuses on eliminating barriers of digital illiteracy, geographical isolation, and limited infrastructure. Through a carefully crafted network of local agents and technology-enabled services, BANKIT brings the most convenient financial tools directly to the doorstep of underserved populations. The company’s commitment extends beyond mere service provision; it aims to empower individuals by providing them with the knowledge, tools, and opportunities to participate in India’s rapidly evolving digital economy.
As of October 2024, BANKIT has expanded its reach to 13,567 pin codes and serves 729 districts nationwide, demonstrating its commitment to bridging the financial divide in India. Over the past year (in Y24), the company on-boarded 27,753 new agents, significantly expanding its network to 173,867 agents across the country.
StartupTalky: What specific financial services does BANKIT provide to promote financial inclusion?
Mr. Nigam: Our comprehensive financial service portfolio is designed to address the multifaceted needs of underserved communities. BANKIT’s service range includes critical fintech functionalities that traditionally required physical bank branch visits in the pre-digital era. Domestic money transfer capabilities allow individuals to send funds seamlessly across India, while the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System provides convenient cash withdrawal, balance inquiry, and mini-statement services linked to Aadhaar accounts.
The Micro ATM service transforms local shops into accessible financial touchpoints that enable cash withdrawals through debit cards. Utility bill payments through the Bharat Bill Payment System currently known as Bharat Connects and prepaid mobile recharges offer additional convenience. Beyond these core services, BANKIT also extends support for specialized transactions and services like prepaid cards, travel bookings, Insurance, and other demanding services. Each service is strategically crafted to simplify complex financial processes and make them accessible to individuals with limited digital literacy.
The effectiveness of these services is evident in our recent usage statistics. In October 2024 alone, 10,96,948 customers utilized the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS), 31,501 benefited from Mini ATM services, and 1,07,199 customers conveniently paid their bills through the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).
StartupTalky: Can you explain Bankit’s business model and how it drives growth in the fintech space?
Mr. Nigam: BANKIT’s groundbreaking “Agent Model” represents a paradigm shift in financial service delivery, ingeniously combining entrepreneurship with financial inclusion. By transforming local shop owners and aspiring entrepreneurs into authorized financial service agents, the company creates a decentralized network that penetrates even the most remote geographical regions. These agents become critical intermediaries, providing digital banking and payment services within their immediate communities. This model not only expands BANKIT’s operational reach but simultaneously addresses unemployment by creating meaningful earning opportunities. The rapid customer acquisition—adding 10.5 lakh+ customers monthly and maintaining a robust base of 2.8 million customers—demonstrates the model’s effectiveness.
By aligning business growth with social impact, BANKIT has positioned itself as a dynamic player in the fintech ecosystem, successfully converting potential market limitations into strategic advantages. The company’s financial performance underscores the success of this model. In the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY23-24), BANKIT achieved an impressive revenue of approximately 169 crores. Top-performing areas for agent onboarding include Ahmedabad, Gopalganj, West Champaran, Dakshin Dinajpur, and Ludhiana, highlighting the model’s effectiveness across diverse regions.
StartupTalky: What revenue growth isBANKIT expecting for FY2025, and what factors will contribute to achieving this goal?
Mr. Nigam: Our growth strategy reveals a nuanced, data-driven approach to market expansion. The company is systematically evaluating market conditions in digitally underserved areas, and conducting comprehensive surveys to understand emerging customer needs. BANKIT’s growth methodology involves developing targeted solutions that directly address the financial service gaps in rural and semi-urban landscapes.
By continuously adapting our service offerings based on granular market insights, we are positioning ourselves for sustainable expansion. The company’s commitment to understanding and responding to local market dynamics, combined with its aggressive customer acquisition strategy and innovative agent network, suggests a robust growth trajectory with the company having already achieved a revenue of approximately 169 crores in FY23-24. The rapid expansion to 1,73,867 agents covering 13,567 pin codes and 729 districts provides a robust foundation for potential future growth.
Ultimately, factors like technological innovation, strategic market penetration, and a deep understanding of underserved market segments will be crucial in driving our financial performance in the upcoming year.
StartupTalky: How does BANKIT overcome the challenge of geographic isolation when extending services to rural areas?
Mr. Nigam: Our strategy for overcoming geographic isolation is multifaceted and ingeniously implemented across the national expanse. By establishing an extensive agent network spanning every Indian state, the company effectively transforms local environments into accessible financial service points. BANKIT’s micro ATM services and mobile-based solutions eliminate the need for customers to travel long distances to access banking facilities.
Each agent becomes a localized financial hub, equipped to handle transactions that would traditionally require branch visits. The company’s technological infrastructure supports this decentralized model, enabling real-time transactions and comprehensive service delivery.
By empowering local entrepreneurs and integrating advanced digital technologies, BANKIT creates a dynamic ecosystem that brings sophisticated financial services directly to communities’ doorsteps. This approach not only addresses geographical constraints but also builds trust and familiarity with digital financial tools.
StartupTalky: What key tools and technologies does BANKIT rely on to manage its business operations?
Mr. Nigam: Big Data Analytics has emerged as BANKIT’s cornerstone technological strategy, providing deep insights into customer behavior, market trends, and emerging service requirements. By meticulously examining vast datasets, the company can uncover hidden patterns, anticipate customer expectations, and strategically align its service offerings.
Beyond analytics, BANKIT emphasizes comprehensive training programs and user-friendly tutorials to ensure effective technology adoption across its agent network and customer base. The company’s technological approach is holistic, focusing not just on data interpretation but also on knowledge dissemination. Regular in-house training sessions ensure that employees and agents remain updated on the latest service innovations.
This commitment to continuous learning and technological adaptation enables BANKIT to maintain operational efficiency and stay ahead of evolving market dynamics.
StartupTalky: How is BANKIT ensuring compliance with recent data privacy regulations?
Mr. Nigam: BANKIT demonstrates a robust commitment to responsible service delivery. Our approach to regulatory compliance is embedded in our comprehensive training and transparent communication strategies. By providing detailed tutorials for every product and ensuring information accessibility across multiple channels, the company establishes a framework of trust and accountability.
The emphasis on user education and clear communication suggests an inherent understanding of data sensitivity. BANKIT’s proactive approach to customer information—providing clear, accessible guidance about its services—indicates a foundational respect for user data. Our focus on empowering users through knowledge implies a broader commitment to ethical technological implementation.
StartupTalky: How do you see current fintech industry trends affecting companies like BANKIT?
Mr. Nigam: BANKIT perceives the FinTech landscape as a dynamic and rapidly evolving ecosystem with immense growth potential. The company views Big Data Analytics not merely as a technological trend but as the fundamental future of business intelligence. By enabling businesses to understand customer needs with unprecedented granularity, these technologies are transforming traditional service delivery models.
BANKIT positions itself as an adaptable, forward-thinking organization ready to leverage emerging technological developments. Our strategy involves continuous market evaluation, customer need assessment, and agile solution development. The company recognizes that success in the FinTech space requires more than technological prowess—it demands a deep understanding of customer expectations, a commitment to innovation, and the ability to translate complex technological capabilities into user-friendly, accessible services.
StartupTalky: What are BANKIT ‘s future plans for service enhancement and scaling operations?
Mr. Nigam: Our future roadmap is characterized by strategic, methodical expansion and a relentless focus on financial inclusion. The company plans to penetrate currently underserved geographical areas by conducting comprehensive market surveys and developing tailored solutions. Our approach involves continuous evaluation of rural and semi-urban market needs, ensuring that service offerings remain relevant and impactful. BANKIT is a pioneer in the industry, providing affordable insurance services starting at just Rs. 1 for its customers.
By empowering more local entrepreneurs through our agent network, we aim to create a scalable, decentralized financial service ecosystem. The aggressive customer acquisition strategy will continue with a nuanced understanding that growth isn’t merely clocking numbers but actualizing meaningful economic empowerment.
Going forward, technology will continue to remain a critical enabler, with ongoing investments set to surge across vectors like training, tutorial development, and innovative service design. BANKIT’s overarching vision extends beyond business growth—it’s about creating sustainable economic opportunities for marginalized communities.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by BANKIT.
BANKIT operates on a B2B2C business model to provide banking and financial solutions under one roof. The startup was officially founded in 2010, took seven years to research the market, and launched its first service in 2017. Founded by Amit Nigam and Satyajeet Limaye, BANKIT is all set to become India’s most trusted payment solutions company and create a ‘Millionaire Agents Network’.
BANKIT focuses to give banking and monetary administrations to underserved individuals who face difficulties in financial offices and are not educated enough. The company’s 50,000+ agents are spread across PAN India across level 2, level 3, and level 4 urban areas and towns to help and furnish clients with banking and monetary offices.
Walkthrough the exciting journey of BANKIT in this article, with highlights on BANKIT’s business model, how it started, its future plans and more.
Being a fintech company, BANKIT operates on a B2B2C business model to provide banking and financial solutions under one roof. It partnered with 15,000 neighbourhood retail stores in tier 2 and tier 3 areas of India, which can offer assisted digital financial services like Domestic Money Transfer, Cash out through APES/ micro ATM, also it has its own Prepaid card apart from additional services in Recharges, Utility Bill payments, loan, Insurance, Travel Booking, etc.
The company has over 80,000 outlets in 29 states that target to strengthen its presence in tier 2 and tier 3 areas with financial services. Recently, the company launched prepaid card solutions for corporates. Also, the vision of the company is to make a “Millionaire Agents Network” (MAN). It wants to maximize the number of agents who are able to make Rs. 10 lakhs as revenue in a year by delivering various BANKIT services.
BANKIT – Industry Details
According to Mr. Amit Nigam, the fintech industry is at the evolving stage to become three times more valuable in the coming 3-5 years. Gladly the government is helping companies to modify their services that add extra creation and strengthen the business. The Indian fintech market is expected to reach a valuation of $150-160 billion by 2025.
BANKIT – Startup Story
The journey of BANKIT started with Amit Nigam, who was also one of the founding members of Spice Money. During that journey, he understood the gap in banking requirements in backward areas. Hence, the idea of BANKIT arrived, where he targeted to enable the unbanked and underserved portions of the country by protected, secure, and advantageous banking, finance, and payment arrangements. BANKIT provides the fastest and easiest money transfer to around 400 banks, based on IMPS technology. It provides safe and instant domestic money remittances. The company was founded in 2010, took seven years to analyse the market, identify gaps, and determine the need for banking services in different states, and launched its first service in 2017.
The founders of BANKIT got in touch with a lot of family members and friends to discuss the idea; many of them gave positive feedback and were impressed by the larger mission that it was to serve. A few of them connected and joined hands, and support was extended in terms of manpower to create an incredible team.
BANKIT is the brainchild of Amit Nigam, a fintech leader with extensive experience of more than 22 years who has worked at the top of management in telecom, FMCG, and fintech companies like Airtel and Aditya Birla Group. Amit serves as the Executive Director and COO at BANKIT. He was also one of the founders of Spice Money. He is an experienced leader with skills in leading direct reports as well as cross-functional teams, justifying new product development investments, determining and documenting new product requirements, developing sales forecasts and product pricing, and launching new products into the marketplace. He also supervises the key management of large-scale projects for the company.
Whereas, Mr. Satyajeet Limaye, Chief Strategy Officer, works alongside Amit Nigam to lead equity deals on both the buy and sell sides, incubating, challenging strategy, and restructuring revenue streams through strategy and financial analytics.
BANKIT – Name and Logo
BANKIT Logo
The team at BANKIT wanted to connect and be relatable to the masses and wanted the name to be relatable with its mission of providing banking and financial services to the last mile.
BANKIT – Product and USP
BANKIT offers financial services to clients through its retail channels, outlets, and banking specialists. Monetary Services are effectively accessible at neighborhood shops. Individuals can visit the closest specialists for administrations with no reports. BANKIT is a stage that has various Banking, Financial, and Payment administrations under one roof and it continues to add more to it as indicated by the client’s needs.
BANKIT focuses on providing banking and financial services to underserved individuals who face difficulties in financial offices and are undereducated. The company’s 50,000+ agents are spread across PAN India across level 2, level 3, and level 4 urban areas/towns to help and furnish clients with banking and monetary offices. It offers B2B2C administrations that address dual-purpose occupations for specialists who offer various types of assistance to buyers and help clients with our quick, simple Banking, Financial, and Payment administrations that require no documentation.
The USP of BANKIT is its web-based interface and versatile application, which is easy to use and user-friendly for the end customers. Its portal and app are much more secure, authentic, and easy to use, if a customer is registered (prior done any exchange with BANKIT) his cash can be sent with 2-3 ticks just right away. The startup continues to update its app and portal according to the client’s needs. BANKIT has added numerous new administrations and guarantees free miniature advances for its agents, which was of great importance and ended up being helpful for the representatives just as much as for the clients. BANKIT is a solitary stage for various administrations accessible 24×7.
BANKIT – Business Model and Revenue Model
Being a fintech organization, BANKIT works on a business-to-business-to-client plan of action to bring banking and monetary arrangements under one roof. It offers financial services like Domestic Money Transfer, and cashouts through APES/miniature ATMs, and has its own prepaid card separate from extra administrations like recharges, utility bill instalments, insurance, travel booking, and so on. Its cutting-edge arrangements are intended to make monetary exchanges consistent, simple, and fast to engage the Agents.
The company offers types of assistance to the purchasers through its agent organization, and for help like DMT, it charges customers @1% on the settlement business according to RBI rules. Different models like money withdrawals through AePS/mATM, Mobile/DTH/Fastag, recharges, bill payments, protection, CMS, and so on are either through banks or aggregators. BANKIT gets a commission from them, which it gives to the retail channel.
As BANKIT’s target group is mainly from rural and semi-urban areas, the team approached retailers through direct marketing via sales personnel. The response received from the same proved to be successful and many retailers joined hands with BANKIT.
The COVID-19 pandemic and induced lockdown forced a lot of migrant workers from urban areas to internally migrate back to their hometowns. BANKIT utilised this opportunity to help these people get opportunities locally and thus get more people on board for its larger mission.
BANKIT – Growth and Revenue
Noida-headquartered start-upBANKIT has a presence in 29 states with more than 70,000 correspondents and 50,000 agents. Its significant business comes from Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Telangana, Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, etc. The fintech stalwart’s estimated annual revenue is currently $15.1 million per year.
The team has experienced a huge number of difficulties all throughout their excursion, but the one prominent one that can be highlighted is its colossal business work during the Coronavirus lockdown.
At the point when the Coronavirus began influencing the Indian business market, the test was to re-plan the business and showcase systems totally at an ideal opportunity to settle and develop the business. The team was happy that BANKIT was not simply made due in the hardest season of the World yet, in addition, made the greatest business in lockdown as the interest of banking and monetary administrations gathered by buyers and BANKIT was prepared to give something very similar in those difficult occasions.
Since BANKIT began its first activity, it has seen that organizations have been confronting a few challenges during this pandemic opportunity to support on the lookout however for them, their huge line of administrations assisted BANKIT to cope in this difficult time and spotlight move on sought after administrations like Cash-out help has turned out a distinct advantage for its business. The company has enlisted the greatest income development and exchanges in the midst of the lockdown and has seen an upward pattern for a few of its contributions.
BANKIT – Competitors
Some of the prominent competitors of BANKIT are PayNearby, Fino PaymentS Bank and Spice Money.
BANKIT – Future Plans
The organization has kept an objective to add 1 lakh+ such outlets in the metropolitan and rustic piece of the country in this monetary year under its channel extension plan. Additionally, the organization is intending to dispatch another line of items and administrations in the coming months.
BANKIT wants to be the pioneer in the formation of a new India where everyone has access to banking facilities and doesn’t have to struggle for basic banking and financial needs. With the vision to become India’s largest and most trusted payment solutions company, the team is working to open more than 10,000 digital and brand BANKIT stores across the country. The startup aims to translate the vision of the government of digitizing rural India and making new entrepreneurs.
FAQs
What is BANKIT?
BANKIT offers financial services to clients through its retail channels, outlets, and banking specialists. It partnered with 15,000 neighborhood retail stores in tier 2 and tier 3 areas of India, which can offer assisted digital financial services like Domestic Money Transfer, Cash out through APES/ micro ATM, also it has its own Prepaid card apart from additional services in Recharges, Utility Bill payments, loan, Insurance, Travel Booking, etc.
Who are the founders of BANKIT?
BANKIT is the brainchild ofAmit Nigam. Mr. Satyajeet Limaye, Chief Strategy Officer, works alongside Amit Nigam.
What is the USP of BANKIT?
The USP of BANKIT is its web-based interface and versatile applicationwhich is easy to use and user-friendly for the end customers. Its portal and app are much more secure, authentic, and easy to use, if a customer is registered (prior done any exchange with BANKIT) his cash can be sent with 2-3 ticks just right away.
How much is BANKIT’s revenue?
BANKIT’s estimated annual revenue is currently $15.1 million per year.
How BANKIT works?
BANKIT offers financial services to clients through its retail channels, outlets, and banking specialists. Monetary Services are effectively accessible at neighborhood shops. Individuals can visit the closest specialists for administrations with no reports. BANKIT is a stage that has various Banking, Financial, and Payment administrations under one rooftop.
Is BANKIT safe?
BANKIT provides the fastest and easiest money transfer to around 400 banks, based on IMPS technology. It provides safe and instant domestic money remittance. Its portal and app are much more secure, authentic, and easy to use.
Who are the competitors of BANKIT?
Some of the competitors of BANKIT are PayNearby, Fino Payment banks & Spice Money.
In this hour of need, startups have again risen to the occasion to help India cope with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. From providing free vaccinations to imparting mental health sessions, Indian startups hasn’t left any stone unturned to help the country fight the Covid 19 pandemic. StartupTalky reached out to various startups to know how they are fighting the second wave of Covid 19 pandemic. Have a look!
Look at How these startups are helping the country to fight Covid-19:
Alserv – a tech start-up focused on non-real-estate-based assisted living services for the elderly has now launched “Alserv Care” for COVID-19 positive elderly individuals. This entails delivery of meals, grocery and medicine, facilitating services of nurses and caretakers, providing oxygen support and other medical equipment to the elderly (upon request).
Enabling quality care at home, Alserv provides these services starting at ₹300/month. The elderly can choose home cooked meals to be delivered at their residences from the variety of choices available. Alserv is delivering home-cooked meals through verified service providers who maintain the highest quality and hygiene standards.
For elderly who are living alone, Alserv is facilitating the services of nurses and caretakers who can stay at home with the elderly and take care of their needs. Speaking about the launch of Alserv Care, Jagadish Ramamoorthy, Co-founder & Director, Alserv, said – “Currently in our country, the hospitals do not have the sufficient number of beds to take care of COVID positive individuals. Also, we believe for the elderly, home care is critical in ensuring complete recovery from COVID. We are already receiving positive feedback regarding Alserv Care from our customers.”
To avail this new service from Alserv, users can download the Alserv app from PlayStore/AppStore or reach out to the helpline: +91-044-4666 4888.
The pandemic has increased the emphasis on the ‘human connect’ aspect of the HR function. Startups always run in a super dynamic and fast paced environment, and this element is even more prominent now for those operating in the healthcare sector. At StanPlus, we handhold our employees if they or anyone in their families are affected by Covid. Quarantine facilities and emergency services are provided at no cost. We ensure that our people on ground have sufficient supply of PPE kits and sanitizers always. Considering the industry StanPlus operates in, we realize the pressure and secondary trauma our people go through. Therefore we have taken away the concept of sick leaves. The employees have the liberty to take leaves whenever they feel overwhelmed. We are tackling these uncertain times as a family.
Spokesperson: Sudipta Sengupta, Founder & CEO, THIP Media
While there are a lot of efforts going into managing the pandemic, we are fighting the infodemic (fake news around COVID 19). Infodemic is a major problem even recognized by WHO. From falsifying treatments to creating Vaccine hesitancy – health misinformation and disinformation has major effects at multiple levels. We, as an IFCN certified Fact Checking organization, we weed out such messages from social media, fact check them along with doctors and medical professionals and publish in 7 different languages.
Rite KnowledgeLabs – Startups support during Covid 19
Mumbai-based startup Rite KnowledgeLabs has sanctioned an additional two days as vaccination leaves to all their employees, helping them to cope with the side effects of vaccinations, if any. The startup has provided a ‘no questions’ asked vaccination allowance to its employees, including their family members. The prolonging of the pandemic with a severe second wave has brought with it unique challenges.
At Rite KnowledgeLabs, we have always been proactive in our approach in enforcing the government regulatory directives from the onset of the pandemic and empowering employees to adapt to the ‘New normal’ way of working with a complete #wfh model. It has led to a series of infrastructural changes/support and social adjustments in the way we function.
Zaggle learnt about the challenges faced by Founders to access credit and especially in this pandemic where starts ups are shutting down or in a financial need, to meet their business expenses. This led the Foundation to ZikZuk a Financial Technology company that solves financial pain points of SMEs and Startups. It is a SME Neo Open Banking Platform with FoundersCard as its 1st Product. We want to create a platform for businesses to easily access financial services from different financial service providers. To avoid the hassle of different accounts, having cheque signed by authorities, going through RTGS, we thought this process should be automated through a platform to quickly flake in and move the funds to ensure that the cheque gets cleared without having to go through the process manually.
FoundersCard is a Corporate Credit Card targeted at Business Owners and Founders. It solves the credit problems, and provides an excellent customer experience by leveraging technology and providing easy access to capital. FoundersCard is a Single payment instrument which can be used to Optimize Working capital and Digitally manage all the expenses of a SME/Startup. The card will be available in different form factors such as virtual card, physical card, e-card, on mobile etc. that will be issued to Founders. The credit card will be available in the form of domestic pre-paid, forex pre-paid and corporate credit and various other benefits that really matter to the Founders of start-up companies. Other than that we have helped in distributing ample of Mask, PPE kits to Indian Police, Daily necessities in village around Hyderabad.
Founded in 2017 by Aneesh Nair, Divya Laroyia and Shyatto Rana, MyHealthcare is a digital healthcare platform launched to improve access to healthcare services by connecting hospitals, doctors, and patients online. It works in partnership with hospitals such as Fortis, BLK, and Nanavati for online doctor consultations.
Shyatto, CEO & Co-founder of MyHealthcare, said, “Our partner hospital and clinic doctors have used our digital EMR and virtual consult platform to connect with patients. This convenience has seen a great acceptance from patients, especially during the last few months.
To support patients and hospitals amid the second wave of covid which resulted in the acute shortage of hospital beds and other resources, we launched our speciality healthcare service called MyHealthcare@Home. It is for patients who are under home isolation. Connected with a hospital team that keeps track of the patient’s health and wellness, the command center of the platform allows the medical staff to track vitals, read patient notes, view medical history, prescribe medicines, alert hospitals among other services, all in real time.
The system offers the already overloaded medical professionals a convenience that saves time and equips them with data to provide quick assistance. Moreover, in an effort to further offer primary specialty care, MyHealthcare is providing air and ground medevac for emergencies. This service entails safely transporting a patient from their location to another city hospital, post the confirmation of admission.”
Integration Wizard Solutions extend its health, safety and security solutions to hospitals, retail stores, warehouses, ATMs, etc. Their client relations are built across continents with AWS, Microsoft, Xerox, Godrej, Heineken, Johnson Controls, Tata, etc. They encourage less human contact, better social distancing, and accurate monitoring of patients/ workers/ people/ businesses.
In the last few weeks, we have witnessed the entire country come together, pool in resources and fight the battle against COVID-19. At Cashfree, we wanted to use our technical know-how and existing infrastructure to create a product that will help those who are helping others. Through the release of ‘Payment Links for Donation’, we intend to make the process of collecting donations easier for those who do not have the technical infrastructure.
The pandemic is impacting everyone around the world and every aspect of our daily lives: our social interactions, our family lives, our communities, and, of course, how all of us work. It’s times like these that remind us that each of us has something to contribute and the importance of coming together as a community. We want our employees to know that we are prioritizing the health and safety of them as well as their families first and foremost. To help them weather the second wave of the coronavirus safely, we have announced initiatives to help the, cope with this struggle. This is why we have directed our efforts to not only help our employees, but also their family members so that they can recover well.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been emotionally challenging for many people, changing the day-to-day life of everyone involved in unprecedented ways. As the second wave of the pandemic continues throughout the country, companies are tasked with balancing the health and safety of their employees while continuing to keep them motivated. During this second wave, Furlenco has taken many steps to help its employees in managing through these tough times.
In continuous efforts to tackle pandemic challenges, Ajith Karimpana, Founder & CEO, Furlenco says, “As India struggles with the latest, brutal wave of COVID-19, we at Furlenco are committed to supporting employees, partners, customers, and friends in their efforts to stay safe. We recognize the importance of our delivery staff as Front Liners and are doing everything to ensure their safety, and that of the customers interacting with them.”
Acknowledging their role as front liners during the pandemic, Furlenco has further enhanced Product Sanitization and Packaging Processes to ensure the complete safety of their delivery executives, while caring more for the safety of both our customers and our delivery champs alike. From effective sanitization of furniture and appliances to thorough clean-up after every installation, Furlenco makes sure that safety measures including ensuring social distancing in warehouses, distribution of masks and sanitation of all warehouses are being thoroughly followed to ensure the safety of all.
During this second wave and lockdown, the Furlenco delivery champions are the heroes making sure that products are reaching customers directly in the safety of their homes. Furlenco’s primary focus has been on Vaccinating their Delivery Executives serving as the front line of the business, with the vaccination costs of all employees being 100% borne by the company. This is a major step for the organization in supporting the needs of their delivery partners, benefitting both these providers of essential services and society as a whole with a safer delivery network.
For those employees who have tested positive for the virus, Furlenco has established a Covid Task Force dedicated to closely helping them and their families with any assistance required be it need of medical assistance, medicines, plasma, oxygen cylinders, oximeters and tele-consultation. In the same spirit, their Buddy Programme ensures that each and every employee has a fellow Furlenco team member identified for support and assistance. From its front line delivery staff to company CEO and founder, Ajith Karimpana, every Furlenco employee is equally involved in the programme and has a part to play in supporting the team.
Additionally, advancements in technology and social media present many opportunities to keep people safe, informed, and connected during the second wave of Covid-19. Furlenco has leveraged its Social Media platforms and Internal Communications channels to create awareness for those in need and to broadcast messages regarding Covid-19 help and support.
The safety of everyone around us and their family is of utmost importance. At challenging times such as these it helps to remember that we all want the same thing: for the people we care about to stay healthy, the virus’ impact to diminish, for treatments to be developed and for life to return to normal. That shared sense of hope and purpose can encourage each of us during this difficult time and help us rally to meet the challenges we face. We thank every person at Furlenco for all they are doing to help not just Furlenco, but also the partners and customers who count on us and the communities that we call home. Together, we know we can meet these challenges.
We are trying to encourage startup founders and innovators in the community to contribute towards Covid relief-related initiatives. Our mentor network has stepped up to provide one-on-one strategic mentoring sessions to startup founders in the ecosystem who are contributing to Covid-relief causes. Donations pooled for covid-relief efforts will go a long way toward mobilizing funds and resources for obtaining necessary supplies and coordinating logistics. Any growth stage startup founder or early stage entrepreneur who provides valid proof of such donation is eligible for a venture development mentoring call with an industry expert on their startup company!
Vantage Fit
Startup
Vantage Fit
Founders
Anjan Pathak, Partha Neog
Founded
2011
Headquarters
New Delhi
Industry
Software
Spokesperson: Anjan Pathak, Co-founder & CTO, Vantage Fit
Vantage Fit – Startup helps during covid pandemic
Vantage Fit, an AI-Powered Corporate wellness solution, is devoted to creating awareness about employee health, but at the same time is also dedicated to helping employers, encouraging a healthy lifestyle amongst their employees, which is an integral part of tackling the Covid-19 related health and mental well-being. Vantage Fit, a flagship corporate wellness product of Vantage Circle, was created with the vision of bringing work and wellness together for a sustainable future.
Spokesperson: Amit Nigam, COO & Executive Director of BANKIT
Bankit – Startups support during Covid
Amidst the catastrophic second wave of the pandemic ravaging the country, India’s ongoing vaccination drive is now open for the 18-44 age group, albeit with the government mandating that there will be no walk-in vaccinations for this age group, and everyone must register on the CoWin app to book a slot. However, a large chunk of India’s population resides in the hinterlands, in remote areas with little to no access to technology. Besides, many may not be tech-savvy either, thereby needing a certain degree of handholding to complete the self-registration process and book a slot.
Against this backdrop, BANKIT, a Noida-based FinTech startup, through its DigiMitra outlets, is assisting India’s rural population in registering for getting inoculated faster through its portal. With the link of the CoWin self-registration portal in the BANKIT agent app and portal, BANKIT is committed to doing their bit to ensure that every citizen in the country get the vaccine at the earliest. People who are not digitally equipped or informed can go to the nearest BANKIT outlet and have them registered through the BANKIT app and portal. BANKIT has 60,000+ agent outlets spread across 8800 pin codes PAN India. Through this initiative, BANKIT aims to handhold over 2.2 million citizens across the country for COVID-19 vaccine registration from their outlets.
There is a huge digital divide between rural and urban India. Despite significant growth overall in terms of technology adoption, rural India is still not well equipped or skilled to use available digital sources. BANKIT has always been committed to bringing digital services to rural areas and helping the people utilize the same. Through this initiative, BANKIT will be including the vaccination link in its app and portal where our correspondents can help those in India’s hinterlands register them for booking appointments for getting inoculated. We hope the country soon recovers from the pandemic and bounces back to normalcy.
BANKIT agent outlets witness over 2 crore customers walking in each month to avail its wide range of banking and financial services.
Spokesperson: Nithya J Rao, Co-founder, Heart It Out
Heart It Out helps during covid 19
Heart It out is a mental health organisation. The pandemic has deeply affected the mental health of people. Heart It Out launched ‘Brief Relief’- a 24×7 Free chat service which provides an individual with immediate emotional support in a safe and non-judgemental environment. The helpline aims at de-stigmatising mental health and providing accessibility in eleven Indian languages.
Enduring these unprecedented times gets a lot easier when we connect, share and seek support from those walking the same path. Heart It Out has thus been conducting ‘Pandemic Peer Support Sessions’ to enable listening authentically to peers sharing their everyday experiences so we extend and receive support from one another. These sessions are open to all front line workers in various sectors like medicine, security and food delivery. Aside from these we also offer regular one-on-one psychotherapy, workshops and light hearted, fun events. We have served over 8000 people over the last year in various capacities.
With the second coronavirus wave disrupting the startup environment, AAIENA has been trying to help the retail vendors by harnessing technology. AAIENA, an Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality based body measurement sizing software, came up with virtual shops to provide retailers with a platform to carry on their business online. This helped them earn by creating their visibility amongst the target audience. Here, AAIENA also devised an alternative feature, trial and earn initiative, to help vendors earn even when they are unable to sell the product. The vendors are entitled to get 70% of revenue for getting the per trials which is safe & secure.
Lifelong India
Startup
Lifelong India
Headquarters
Gurgaon, Haryana
Industry
Consumer Durables, Home Appliances
Spokesperson: Bharat Kalia, Co-founder & CEO, Lifelong India.
Lifelong India fights Covid 19
In these unprecedented times, we have witnessed how the nation hascome together to bravely battle the pandemic. As a brand, we knew our efforts had to be two-fold, so we could help and ease the worries of both, our customers and our employees. We understood the importance of certain kitchen appliances, like gas stoves and mixer grinders, and how crucial they are for everyday use. When our customers requested support or service for these products, and we were unable to provide it due to strict lockdown restrictions within their district, we replaced the product for them through no-contact delivery. We ensured that our customers’ grievances were adequately and timely addressed. For our employees and their families, we opened up our call centre lines to verify any leads and availability of beds, injections, medicine and oxygen. When someone tested positive, they could focus on getting better without worrying about tracking leads. We supported our team further, by providing health insurance that included covid coverage.
Spokesperson: Bharti Singh, Sr Manager – People, Leverage Edu
Leverage Edu – Startups Fighting Covid 19
As things started to get bad last week, Akshay asked us to set up a small team to help internally. That very quickly scaled into we helping patients and their families across the country, bulking up the team, and being able to help more than 300 people already. Alongside, Akshay also recently announced free vaccines for all of our 200 employees & their families, & at the moment we are also working towards setting the logistics of it. It’s empowering to work in a missionary company, where the focus is on always doing the good, all else later.
Conclusion
These startups have proved that nothing is impossible! Even in this pandemic situation, individuals and groups are coming forward to help the humanity survive. It is this dedication, commitment and positivity that will help the country to fight the Covid. If you’re a startup that has joined the fight towards Covid 19, do contact us to get featured in the list.
Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning – the STP approach is a model used by businesses to cater their customer segments in a more sophisticated way. Based on the the nature of organisation, objectives, industry, market scenarios etc., the STP approach differs. The overall market is catered by the businesses based on the audiences in Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Well, there isn’t any distinct definition of Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 based audiences, it is mainly based on the perception and understanding of the market by the diverse businesses.
We asked the people who can answer these better than anyone else. Entrepreneurs from diverse field were asked – “What is the difference between Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 audience from the perspective of your field of expertise?” and here’s what we got to know –
Shalabh Upadhyay – Founder & CEO, NEWJ (New Emerging World of Journalism)
Shalabh Upadhyay, Founder of NewJ
The availability of affordable data, particularly with the advent of Jio, has ushered in a paradigm shift in the consumption of content online. It has led to the democratization of journalism and content creation in the truest sense. Opinions which were earlier molded by the residents of ‘Tier-1’ are now predominantly defined by the masses residing in the ‘Tier-2’ and ‘Tier-3’ cities and towns. For NEWJ, as a media-tech enterprise, this shift marks a threshold moment because it has levelled the playing field in mass communication and has in fact diminished the ‘differences’ between Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3.
Sudha Anand – Founder, Swaas
Sudha Anand – Founder, Swaas
Tier 1 customers look for the quality products with international look & feel along with the brand’s USP’s / brand story and what the brand stands for. Tier 2 customers are more drawn for product quality and design. Tier 3 customers expect value for money.
The main difference according to our expertise in working with Tier 1 and Tier 2/3 cities is the consumer behavior. The products and services that may be common in Tier 1 are not so common in Tier2/3 cities. Taking fintech in perspective we have seen that the typical Tier1 consumer uses more of cash-in services while cash-out is more common in the later. Another most common example of this difference is Tech knowledge, the customers in Tier2/3 are as tech-savvy as the customer is Tier 1, thus reaching the customers becomes a little challenging. BANKIT tries to reach this segment of the audience through retailers who are already familiar with the customer and can reach them more effectively. This also helps in overcoming the most common challenge that companies face while reaching consumers in Tier 2/3 areas: Gaining their trust. The other most commonly-faced challenge is the language. India with its varied cultures has different languages in the same state and district and due to lack of exposure people in smaller cities and towns understand only one language that a company may not be versed with.
We are only just venturing into tier 3 towns and that too via Distribution partners who own physical assets in these locations and have a local presence. As you go further into India’s tier 2 and 3 cities, the skill development agenda gains urgency and simultaneous challenges. Almost 70% of India’s population is in tier 2,3 and 4 cities and can prove to be phenomenal growth drivers. But as you go deeper into these cities, the gap emerging from the unmet demand for quality education creates roadblocks to skilling. Limited literacy, the diverse local dialect, societal norms—all come together to impact skilling motivations and response.
Our solutions—that ride on smartphones and easy internet access—are designed to overcome India’s unique challenges. These cities are seeing increasing attention and fast infrastructural growth. You now have state of the art warehouses coming up on what used to be farmland. When we create content for these audiences, we use our expertise to explain the process, ie what has to be done, along with why it has to be done-why keeping something chilled matters or why a bar code matters, why it’s important to be able to trace something. So you have to explain much more of the context.
Then there is language to consider that requires a constant feedback loop and intelligent design to ensure that the platform’s UI is flawless and simple without being simplistic.
India has significantly progressed in the past decade both in terms of internet connectivity and socio-economic status. So, the difference between T1, T2, and T3 is getting more and more nuanced. A few of these factors include:
Against popular belief, affordability is no more an issue – across tiers, people are willing to invest in education solutions.
Across tiers, value for money is critical criteria, but what differentiates better solution in T3 and T2 context compared to T1 is how well they address the emotional (peace of mind) and social (talkability and status bosting) needs of the consumer
The degree of receptivityto trying new things reduced as we move from T1 to T3
Mobile-first solutions are imperative for lower tiersWhile the luxury of time that consumers enjoy is diminishing across, there is a downward trend as we move from T3 to T1
From our perspective, Tier 1 cities are well-aware of the technologies and resources that are available in those cities or over the Internet. But on the other hand, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are very less aware of the resources that we offer or are available.
Raj N – Founder, Zaggle
Raj N – Founder, Zaggle
Tier 1 companies are the big guns, and the Tier 3 ones are the more modest firms. Over time, companies can move up the tiers if they fit the criteria.
Amit Agarwal – Founder & CEO, OckyPocky
Amit Agarwal – Founder & CEO, OckyPocky
In India, the Edtech segment has gained a humongous amount of traction from the past year as most of the edtech start-ups were targeting audiences from Bharat. Whereas earlier, online learning was just focused on urban areas because of the differences that Tier 1 cities had when compared to Tier 2/ 3 cities. People from Tier 2 and 3 cities have a higher demand for vernacular content and want deeper customer support and they also favor smaller price points before opting for bigger packages as they lack trust in digital payments. By considering their demands, the Edtech industry made education accessible and affordable to help the people of Bharat and it was truly transformational to see the huge demand upsurge that came from Tier 2 & 3 towns.
Tanul Mishra – CEO, Afthonia Lab
Tanul Mishra – CEO, Afthonia Lab
FinTech players are redefining the business models across different segments of the financial services industry, helping improve service delivery and contributing to digital financial inclusion. As per the latest BCG FICCI report, India’s fintech industry is seen at $150-160 bn by 2025. Due to pandemic, India has gone through the digital revolution and it is growing at a fast clip. In such a bullish market of startups, incubators and accelerators play a vital role in streamlining founder’s thoughts and plan the road ahead.
Consumption in India will reach $4 trillion by 2025, the growing internet penetration in India is also expected to push consumer spending. While the consumption of fintech in the metro cities is high, there has been a great push in the adoption of fintech in tier II and III cities as well. In non-metro cities, we are seeing startups building some unique opportunities and solving very specific problems. These smaller cities in India are emerging as business pivots, opening up peculiar job opportunities, for instance- cities such as Ahmedabad (31%) and Vadodara (20%) witnessed a positive hiring in February 2021, because of the higher consumption rate. This is especially evident from the share of luxury retail spending, which grew from around 9% in 2013 to 55-60% in 2018 in non-metro cities, especially Jaipur, Udaipur, and Chandigarh.
Tier II and III cities have grown at a brisk pace on the back of an increase in disposable income, and deeper penetration of mobile internet. I believe that apart from digitizing the payments ecosystem, there are other potential areas where fintech can focus to drive major business from, in tier II and III cities especially in tier III, by providing lower-cost services to underbanked and unbanked masses.
Mahadev Srivatsa – VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy, Practically
Mahadev Srivatsa – VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy, Practically
The difference between marketing to Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 audiences is narrowing by the day, as aspirations are increasing across Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. As a society, education is of paramount importance to us and every parent, irrespective of geography, wants their child to succeed and have the best means to do so. However, disposable income, access to quality education, regional/cultural influences and content consumption are still some key differentiators that one needs to be conscious about, while marketing a product.
Conclusion
Hope that the distinction between Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 audiences has become more understandable, based on the insights given by esteemed entrepreneurs of the industry. Be it Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 audiences, businesses always come up with a unique way to to cater its unique market!
Muskaan Kapoor
