Budget 2021 | Fintech sector requires investment and innovation

By Harshvardhan Lunia

During the past year through the Covid-19 pandemic, the fintech industry witnessed revolutionary traction to serve MSMEs across the country, leveraging technological capabilities built over past several years. With the collaborative approach consistently supported by the Central Bank and the government through Ministry of MSME, this industry has empowered otherwise vulnerable small businesses through equitable access to working capital and funding requirements. Considering the pace of evolution and associated large scale benefits delivered from fintech ecosystem to support government’s vision of inclusive growth, the industry is best placed to gain elevated focus in the upcoming fiscal priorities for the government to support fintech industry through various grants for technology investment and innovation, ensuring allocation of funds to digital lenders to encourage developing new solutions, extending digital reach for them to service deserving small businesses and to help achieve the dreams of $5 Trillion economies.

The government’s sustained support to fintechs serving MSMEs will help transform initiatives such as “Atmanirbhar Bharat” into successful realities and will also help set up the hub of opportunities in this industry. Government's push will in turn support increased capital for Fintech sector working with a dedicated focus to empower the country’s Micro and Small businesses and operating as extended arms of large banks and financial institutions. The government should also push the collaborative approach decided by the Reserve Bank to incentivise banking sector to partner with fintech lenders on various risk-sharing co-lending models to extend capital support to MSMEs leveraging Fintech’s well established widespread origination, underwriting and seamless delivery capabilities.

(The author is Co-founder and CEO at Lendingkart)