Most of us have heard about the term ‘gatekeepers’, the ones who determine who’s in and out with regard to anything. This aspect assumes enormous proportions with regard to any conversations around financial inclusion, because traditional legacy-based models have been implicitly coded to focus on what can be considered as the “safe bets”, the big metros, big companies, unicorns and IPOs. But Eric Anklesaria believes that it’s this flawed perspective that has led to most Indians getting left out of the financial safety net so far and that is precisely what technology and tech-based systems are remedying, in his eyes.
After all, just think about it; go back even 7 to 10 years, and getting access to any kind of financial instrument, be it credit or investment, was a huge chore for anyone coming from non-metro or tier 2 and 3 areas, from Indore to Guwahati or Mysore. Red tape, undue paperwork and lots of “come back tomorrows” meant nobody wanted to even be a part of the process, preferring instead to keep their wealth in “Tijoris”. Eric Anklesaria very painstakingly recollects many an instance where many bold business ideas never saw the light of day, thanks to lack of access to funds and other finance-led technicalities.
But now digital-led and data-driven perspectives are truly flipping the script, with online apps, UPI and other digital lending platforms paving the way towards a landscape where even the smallest shopkeeper can get access to funds at just a simple click.
A smartphone today has literally become a bank branch, investment advisor, stockbroker and tax consultant, all rolled into one. In Eric Anklesaria’s eyes that’s not just a small tweak but an evolution that truly needed to happen.
And Eric Anklesaria would state bluntly here that it is not just about the speed or convenience, but rather dignity and respect. When a farmer in Nashik or Kanpur gets online credit in time, especially during a bad harvest, he or she doesn’t have to run to an informal moneylender anymore. This is therefore a saga of human impact and, most importantly, of that basic human right to be prosperous, secure and grow as well. This example may look small, but as Eric Anklesaria often says, “This is not only a story of finance catching up but also a saga of people in the margins finally being treated with respect and included by the system.”
And here comes the part that most people often miss: the old models and processes were not just broken by accident but remoulded with intent, because classical approaches were built around the assuredness and predictability of big metros and their markets. But now that conversation has finally changed for the better, as tech-led methodologies with local language apps, biometric logins and transact and pay on the go are designed to imbibe and accelerate dynamism, breaking free from the stagnancy of stale fail-safes.
But the big question that comes up here is, are the stakeholders and leaders who matter truly ready to trust this? Eric Anklesaria would like his peers to do that, because, as he often warns, spreadsheets can’t truly encapsulate the action that is happening on the ground. India’s robust growth over the past two decades has increased both income levels and aspiration bandwidths, and it would be foolhardy for FIs not to leverage the same. In Eric Anklesaria’s view, leading in the moment therefore means having that risk appetite to embrace and back new processes and models, even if they sound or feel uncomfortable. And Eric is not talking about being reckless here; he simply wants change to be recognised, embraced and accepted for what it truly is.
So what does success look like in all of this? For Eric Anklesaria, the outcome is very simple; if that small trader in Ayodhya or shopkeeper in Asansol is empowered and positively impacted by all this, then that’s the best bottom line one could truly have. Where finance no longer feels like a prohibitive and oppressive gatekeeper but becomes a partner to growth and happiness for all, and that, to Eric Anklesaria, is the real promise that fintech is truly unleashing.