On the occasion of Independence Day, anchor Sakshi Batra speaks with Santanu Agarwal, the CIO of fintech company Paisalo Digital Limited, to help you navigate your way towards your own financial freedom. Paisalo is a digital lending platform for MSMEs. An easy and convenient way for customers to get a loan using just your phone, this app lets you borrow money and receive it instantly in your bank account. Agarwal shares his insights on how to attain financial freedom, how to realize ones’ business goals and about the rising potential of the fintech industry in India.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

Q. Tell us a little bit about Paisalo Digital Limited.

A. Paisalo Digital was incorporated in 1992. It got listed on the stock exchange in 1996 with the market capitalization of Rs 3 crores. As of 2018, it stands at over Rs 1,200 crores. In fact, between 2008 and 2018, we’ve given a CAGR of 38% to our stakeholders. And till date, we’ve served over 1 million customers with our high tech model.

Q. You’re a young entrepreneur of only 21 years. What according to you is financial freedom and what should people understand from this term?

A. When it comes to financial freedom, there is a concept that we follow, which is: available, aware, and affordable. By combining all these, you strive towards fulfillment of your entrepreneurial journey. There is a quote I read a few months ago by Steve Jobs, which said “Everything that you see around yourself was created by somebody who was looking for that resource”. There are ample opportunities around you to achieve your financial freedom, in a country like India where 1.3 billion people reside and are served by non-regulated entities.

Q. Do you think youngsters today are more financially aware?

A. Our generation is a lot more financially literate. It’s not that we don’t know what finance is; we are aware that there is something called expense, income and asset; and we understand that asset leads to realization of income, which leads to realization of expense. We cannot focus on expense alone.

I feel knowledge is power when it comes to finance. What I try to do to spread financial literacy is to explain that household income and business income are two different aspects; you cannot mix the two. It’s the business that brings income into your house.

Q. What are the key five steps to go forward with towards the journey of financial freedom?

A. The five things that are crucial for financial freedom are:

1) Set realistic finance goals

You cannot be making Rs 50,000 a month and expect to make Rs 5 lakh within the next three months. That is an unrealistic dream attached to an unrealistic goal. But you can think of going from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 within the quarter. You need to be realistic.

2) Asset, Income, and Expense—these are three different accounts, so treat them differently

3) Saving is very important

Saving is going to help you in bad times or if you’re undertaking an entrepreneurial journey or planning on pursuing self-employment. It is going to motivate you to work harder.

4) Maintain a diversified portfolio

I prefer equities, but don’t concentrate your risk on equities alone. Always spread out your portfolio. Invest in G-Sec bonds, company bonds or mutual funds.

5) Always read the fine print of mutual funds

Q. How do you set your financial goals?

A. Understand the nature of the business. Work towards identifying the target sector of the business you want to build, as this will help you understand your assets and liabilities to achieve your desired goals. Then, understand the money you’re making and how much income you can generate over the next quarter or the next five years; strive towards achieving that. If you're underachieving by a month, figure out what went wrong and how to make it better. If you're overachieving, that's great. That means, you have the potential to scale up.

Fintech is certainly the way forward; it has huge market potential as an industry and its benefits are wide ranging. It provides every person, regardless of age or any low income, the opportunity to start their own venture and fulfil their goals just using their mobile device. It makes borrowing money a hassle-free process with easy repayment options. So, set out on your journey now, on just on the click of a button.

This is a sponsored post.

First Published:Aug 15, 2018 10:00 AM IST