Meet Ritesh Jain, ISB graduate who got firm's idea on Uber ride; his company disbursed Rs 3400 crore as loans

Digital lender Flexiloan.com said on Tuesday that assets under its management crossed Rs 1000 crore and it has disbursed loans worth Rs 3400 crore as of March 2023. The loans had been given to over 70,000 people across 2000 cities. The company has zero branches and 100 percent digital operations. The next goal of the company is to achieve sustained profitability. By 2025, it would have disbursed loans worth Rs 10000 crore. According to reports, the company grew at a rate of 300 percent on year-on-year basis. They want to double the run rate next year. 53 percent of their loans are disbursed to first-time business borrowers and 69 percent of total lending happens in 2-3 tier towns. The company was founded by Deepak Jain, Manish Lunia, Ritesh Jain and Abhishek Kothari -- all MBAs from the Indian School of Business (ISB). Here's the story of Ritesh Jain, who is one of the founders.

Per his LinkedIn profile, he is a marathoner. He has been the co-founder for almost seven years. Before that, he was the vice-president of Housing.com's finance department. He remained with Tata Teleservices Limited for over five years.

He had studied Post-Graduate Programme in Management- major in Analytical Finance and Strategic Marketing from the Indian School of Business.

After ISB, Ritesh had moved to Delhi, Manish and Deepak in Mumbai and Abhishek to London. An Uber ride changed how Ritesh got the idea to open the business. He noticed that his Uber driver couldn't drive him around as his phone was not functioning. He was losing out on a massive business because he couldn't replace his phone that cost under Rs 1000. He deduced that lower middle class lacked the avenues to raise working capital.

Deepak's family has a jewellery business. He found that his small business owners will raise money by pawning their ornaments. They came together to solve the problems of working capital for people who don't get relief from banks and financial institutions.

They opened the business for small and medium enterprises, the sector that is the backbone of the Indian economy.

The company has partnered with digital marketplaces and companies like Flipkart, Ola etc. They disburse loan faster and relatively easier, helping MSEMs solve their capital problem quickly.

Jain has over 14 years of experience. He is also a chartered accountant. He also worked with Citibank and Starwood Hotels.