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Manish Khera's is an Exciting Journey From Banking to Entrepreneurship Happy Loans has partnered with over 10 merchant aggregators who give the firm access to 5.7 million small merchants in India

By Entrepreneur India Staff

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Entrepreneur India

Though innovation is the core for start-ups but seldom people jump into entrepreneurship with a vision to change people's lives. Manish Khera, a former banker, quits his job to form Happy Loans. Read more to know how he is helping Small Medium Enterprises (SME) to ease business.

What Sparked Your Interest in Entrepreneurship?

In the past 25 years of my banking career, I've had varied experiences of working for large organizations. The reason I delved into entrepreneurship is because we need to question everything that exists. My major aim is to make an impact on people's lives, empower them and business success is just a bonus.

How Did You Strategize Your Product to the Market?

There are 600 million people who do not have a record with the credit bureau and that's because large organizations have not seen the potential of retail banking in the bottom of the pyramid. Indian market is very unique and most banking products that are successful in matured markets, may not work here. I've seen and studied local requirements and customized our offerings. We made digital short-term small loans for SME to manage their working capital more efficiently. These loans start from INR 2000 for as short as 30 days. The repayment is automated with the amount of sale they do on a daily basis so that they're not burdened to pay the whole sum at once.

Who are the People Behind Your Venture?

I've a very sound co-founder - Gautam Ivatury. He has led many businesses before this and brings a very rich experience of technology, business and banking from a global perspective. After launching your product in the market how was the response? We launched Happy Loans 10 months ago and have an overwhelming response of disbursing over 10000 loans in over 400 locations of India. This is quite encouraging and we're only going to get wider and faster from here on with our growing partnerships with merchant aggregators.

What are the Few Challenges That You Faced As an Entrepreneur?

I think banking needs more liberalization in India. I've been a part of many policy decision making process and I'm quite convinced we're headed in the right direction but we have a long way to go! Regulators must recognize newer transformation for a healthy market, better customer service and faster economic growth.

How Customer Feedback Helped You Improve Services?

Customers say they love the speed and experience of getting a Happy Loan. It's instant and effortless because they don't need to submit documents/ sign on loan application forms.