Podcast · ~60 min listen

What killed India's first fintech lenders?

Rohin Dharmakumar and Arundhati Ramanathan · Two by Two, The Ken Paid Intermediate India

The Ken's Two by Two takes the pioneers (Capital Float, ZestMoney, Lendingkart) and asks why so many of India's first lending startups struggled, with DMI Finance's co-founder in the room to keep it honest. It is the local, current analysis of how lending economics really behave here: the clash between venture growth-at-all-costs and the slower, regulated reality of actually collecting money back. Treat it as a cautionary map of the traps, not a verdict on any one model. Note: it sits behind The Ken's subscription.

  • Disbursing loans is the easy part; the businesses that broke did so on collections, credit quality, and cost of capital, not on top-line growth.
  • Venture funding pushed some lenders to grow faster than their risk models and unit economics could support.
  • Hearing an operating lender (DMI Finance) react in real time is a useful reality check before you trust your own revenue assumptions.
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The question it answers

  1. How does a lending or fintech startup actually make money in India, beyond just interest?

Read with it

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  2. Before you can model revenue, you have to understand the rules that decide what revenue is even allowed, and this guide lays... IncorpX Article · ~15 min read Digital Lending Business in India: RBI Guidelines and Compliance IncorpX
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