The Fintech start-up space in India is one of the fastest growing sectors whose market size is currently around $50 Bn and is expected to reach $150 Bn by 2025. With technology and talent accelerating its growth, there has been a dramatic rise that has helped a lot of new-age entrepreneurs capitalize on it.
One such young man who started from scratch and is today leading a successful fintech venture is Nikhilesh Tiwari, who is the owner and founder of Spay Technology Pvt. Ltd. Started in 2018 with a team strength of 29 people, Nikhilesh envisioned to make technology-enabled micro-financing services available in rural India.
He started his career in 2007 with Suvidhaa Infoserve Pvt. Ltd and later on moved to Vodafone M-Pesa in the year 2015. It was during this time that he witnessed the huge digital gap amongst the rural villages in India where basic facilities such as money transfers were not available to people. His eye-opening experience made him realize the need of developing a financial system that would empower these people. However, his ideas were not taken seriously and he faced several challenges to get enough funding to start his venture. Additionally, there were serious setbacks from many corporate partners and banks for alliances and partnerships. However, he remained undeterred.
Nikhilesh shares, “Technology is the greatest egalitarian enabler in this modern age and hence it should be available for everyone without any discrimination”.
Today Spay Technology Pvt. Ltd. is worth more than $500 million. It is not just another mobile payment application. The Spay team has focused exclusively on empowering the migrant population and other sections of the Indian economy that were previously being ignored. The team has succeeded in bringing about a certain equilibrium in the mobile payments sector and help the rural population enjoy the perks of going cashless. A network of agents and merchants has been created to cover as many locations as possible. Spay is now a complete B2B portal, that offers a plethora of services like – Online money transfers, Aadhar-enabled payment systems, Utility bill payment, Travel, Bus ticket booking recharge, Insurance, and many more.
The pandemic of Covid 19 emerged as a major challenge when the company was picking up speed. It experienced a major dip of 257% in its operation from March to June 2020, which led Nikhilesh to change his strategies. He made zero layoffs and kept the team together to push ahead. There was a merchant onboarding scheme introduced that helped them get more business through digital medium and the business started picking up slowly and steadily. In just about 3 years, Nikhilesh turned Spay Technology into an award-winning company that is leading the industry.
The company has been named one of the Top 20 BFSI companies of the year 2021–2022 by the CEO magazine and one of the Top 10 Fintech companies of India by CIO Insights. It has also bagged the award of India’s Greatest Brands by the AsiaOne International magazine. Nikhilesh has also been felicitated by several well-known celebrities and distinguished industry leaders and has also received appreciation from the Ministry of Finance in 2020 for its contribution towards building a strong and resilient nation.
To know more about Spay Technology Pvt. Ltd., please visit: https://spayindia.com
