Dvara Money, the financial services arm of Dvara Trust, has merged with gig economy startup CabDost in order to improve access to financial advice as well as credit and wealth products for cab drivers across the country, its said in a press release.
Over the last three years, CabDost has partnered with leading cab aggregators, airport authorities and other businesses to provide cab drivers with financial advice services. The startup focused on simplifying tax filing for these drivers and as a result their financial statements would help them apply for loans and file their Goods and Services Tax returns.
“We started CabDost to bring financial inclusion after our research with 3000 drivers realising that the new age contract workforce is excluded due to credibility issues. We are handholding communities through mass awareness about tax filing, PAN and Aadhaar linking and financial literacy sessions across the country. We have built stress-free assisted mode for tax filing to help plan their finances,” said Yamuna Sastry, founder and chief enabling officer, CabDost.
Dvara on its part has been working on financial inclusion programs and research in the country for several years. It has seven companies, from Dvara Money; Dvara Research, a think-tank; Dvara KGFS, which provides financial services to rural communities; Dvara Solutions, a technology solutions provider for financial institutions; Dvara e-Registry, an alt-data company; Dvara SmartGold, a gold savings platform; and Dvara e-Dairy, a platform for dairy farmers to access financial services.
The partnership with CabDost will enable Dvara Money, via its Spark mobile app, to distribute financial products to cab drivers across the country. “CabDost has been working relentlessly over the last few years to encourage Taxi drivers in adopting the formal financial system, pay their income tax, in turn making them and managing trustee, Dvara Trusteeship Services Pvt. Ltd.
As a combined entity, data insights from CabDost will be used to curate financial services and wealth management services for cab drivers,” said Pramod Ghorpade, co-founder and director, Dvara Money. “Leveraging our expertise in facilitating financial wellness in the form of Spark Account, Dvara Money will empower this segment with financial services, along with other benefits like tax returns, which will enable our customers to be better prepared to face challenges in the present and future,” he said.
Also read
