Kochouseph Chittilappilly said that the key intent behind the NBFC is to work closely with small-scale industries and traders in his home state Kerala meet their daily funding requirements
Early in his life, Kochouseph Chittilappilly turned down the offer of a secure banking job, choosing instead to start a business. It was the right call—today, electrical appliances maker V-Guard Industries is one of Kerala’s largest business empires.
“I am glad that I took that decision at that time, which was a brave one at that," Chittilappilly said in an interview to Mint. Four decades on, he is once again ready to explore uncharted waters as he prepares to launch his own non-banking finance company (NBFC), which he says will be built ground up.
Chittilappilly said that the key intent behind the NBFC is to work closely with small-scale industries and traders in his home state Kerala meet their daily funding requirements.
“It will be a small NBFC, which will give low-ticket loans in an organized way to small-scale industries and self-help groups. We will, however, stay away from gold loan or loan against property," he said.
Chittilappilly started V-Guard in 1977 from a humble background, with an initial capital of ₹1 lakh that he borrowed from his father. Starting with just two workers, the company now boasts of a turnover of nearly ₹3,000 crore, a workforce of 3,000 employees and diversified interests that include amusement parks and real estate development.
Chittilappilly has been associated with many initiatives to support startups, including an entrepreneurial training programme, Vijayee Bhava.
He has invested in many startups, including Kerala-based travel technology startup Verteil Technologies as part of its pre-Series A funding round.
Through this new initiative, Chittilappilly is focused on funding only those ventures that have already proven their business model, but need money to expand.
Chittilappilly’s motivation to set up an NBFC stems from his own experience in the initial years when he had to chase a bank for getting a loan sanctioned, he recounts in his book A Journey Towards Hope. While he claims that the funding situation has improved significantly now with government schemes, he saw many small-scale businesses struggle over funding during the pandemic.
However, he is quick to clarify that he doesn’t intend to enter into full-fledged banking in the future and that he would rather maintain the NBFC operations in a small way.
“In the last five years, we have been promoting entrepreneurs at subsidized rates. We have given some guidance, we are 500 people. We have a separate division called Vijayee Bhava. We give training to small-scale industries. When we analyse the issues, some of them will be good in technology or product. Despite meeting these parameters, getting a small loan even from a bank or NBFC is tough even now. I can guarantee that our loan conditions will be less compared to banks or any other financial institutions because I’m able to subsidize part of it. My aim is to promote talented, needy small-scale industries," he said.
Chittilappilly, who donated one of his kidneys to a stranger, figures on the Forbes’ list of top Indian philanthropists.
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