Advisory services firm Intellecap, which is part of the impact investment-focused Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group, has announced the appointment of Vikas Bali as its new chief executive officer.

Before this, Bali was a managing director leading Intellecap’s global consulting and research business.

He replaces Nisha Dutt, who served as CEO since May 2015.

Intellecap said in a statement that Bali will be responsible for setting the strategic direction of the company across businesses and geographies.

“Vikas (Bali) brings with him diverse expertise and is the ideal choice to provide leadership and guidance to the young and passionate intellectual capital with us at Intellecap,” said Vineet Rai, founder, Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group.

Bali had earlier worked with Accenture Strategy, part of global professional services company Accenture, leading the products vertical including automotive, consumer goods, life sciences and retail businesses. His previous assignments also include stints at Tata Sky, DEN Networks, AT Kearney and Andersen consulting.

The Impact Story by Asian NGO is a coveted yearly story which captures in depth the Insights and Inspiration for Social Innovation. This year their focus was Tech For Good and captures the myriad possibilities for the Africa region to come together, collaboratively, and use technology to make a social impact on a global scale.

Arielle Molino from Intellecap Africa contributed a detailed story (page 40) on the use of drones and the opportunity it presents to entrepreneurs and startups who want to innovate and disrupt.

In the article, she highlights how drone technology has demonstrated abilities to identify crop stress, assist with irrigation management, and manage pest control more efficiently and accurately than any manual alternatives. The average smallholder farmer in Africa today has limited access to agriculture technology, and climate change means that traditional planting timelines cannot be followed. So, affordable agriculture management services through drones can be a game-changer for the 500 million estimated smallholder farmers in the world. She also goes on to share the challenges and obstacles that come in the way of adaption.

Mar 21 2018

Mumbai, March 21, 2018: BASIX Sub-K iTransactions Ltd, a Hyderabad based company focused on financial inclusion, has raised INR 350 million from global nonprofit and financial inclusion pioneer Accion and Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a public-private partnership, owned by among others, the Norwegian and Danish governmental funds for developing countries (Norfund and IFU). Intellecap served as the investment banker for the deal.

Sub-K will use a sizeable amount of the funds for business growth by investing in the expansion of its agent banking network and credit facilitation for micro and small businesses. Some of the amount raised will also be dedicated to strengthening its IT platform that would help the company position itself as a preferred fintech as well as distribution partner for banks and financial institutions.

Commenting on this deal, Sasidhar Thumuluri, MD & CEO of Basix Sub-K says, “We are very excited about this investment. Accion and NMI as well as our early investor Michael & Susan Dell Foundation share our vision of a financially included society. Building upon Basix’s two decades of cutting edge work in financial inclusion, we will be able to continue to invest in innovations and increase our reach multi-fold, thanks to this investment.”

“Sub-K’s understanding of client needs, network of agents, and bank partnerships help address a long-standing challenge of providing rural families in India with the financial services they need to build better lives,” says Michael Schlein, President and CEO of Accion.

“We are very thrilled and excited to join the Sub-K team. NMI has high expectations for Sub-K, thanks to its strong and customer centric concept, and highly competent management and staff,” says Arthur Sletteberg, Managing Director of NMI.

“This new capital infusion from Accion and NMI is a testament to Sub-K’s promise as a transformative provider of diversified financial services to low-income families across the country. We are thrilled to be a partner in Sub-K’s evolution and continued growth,” said Santhosh Ramdoss, Director – India Programs, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

MAY, 03, 2018

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Under the services, Intellecap would assist its clients with transaction structuring and debt fund raising from banks, financial institutions, private placement of debt, commercial paper and external commercial borrowings, among others, it said in a statement.

Are inclusion riders imperative for better diversity?

If you had asked me this question 10 years ago, I would have said we do not need inclusion riders, and that women would rise to the top on merit. However, if we take a linear approach on the gender gap, it will take us 150 years to bridge it. Inclusion riders need to be adopted as a company-wide mission at the board level and driven top down if we want the diversity agenda to go beyond token representation of minorities.

India has initiated the inclusion process with new regulations, which mandate at least one independent female director on the board of a listed company. We have seen how effective the 30% club campaign has been in driving its signatories (companies on the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index) to commit to greater representation (a minimum of 30%) of women on their boards. A diverse team gives you better business outcomes.

HYDERABAD, 22,MARCH,2018

BASIX Sub-K iTransactions Ltd, a company focused on financial inclusion, has raised Rs 35 crore from global non-profit and financial inclusion pioneer Accion and Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI).

The investors are a public-private partnership, owned by among others, the Norwegian and Danish governmental funds for developing countries (Norfund and IFU).

Sub-K will use a sizeable amount of the funds for business growth by investing in the expansion of its agent banking network and credit facilitation for micro and small businesses.

Some of the amount raised will also be dedicated for strengthening its IT platform that would help the company position itself as a preferred fintech as well as distribution partner for banks and financial institutions.

Commenting on this deal, Sasidhar Thumuluri, MD & CEO of Basix Sub-K, said: “Accion and NMI as well as our early investor Michael & Susan Dell Foundation share our vision of a financially included society. Building upon Basix’s two decades of cutting edge work in financial inclusion, we will be able to continue to invest in innovations and increase our reach multi-fold, thanks to this investment.”

Mar 21 2018

BASIX Sub-K iTransactions Ltd, a Hyderabad based company focused on financial inclusion, has raised Rs.350 million from global nonprofit and financial inclusion pioneer Accion and Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a public-private partnership, owned by among others, the Norwegian and Danish governmental funds for developing countries. Intellecap served as the investment banker for the deal.

Founded in 2010, Basix Sub-K iTransactions Ltd., is a associate company of BASIX Social Enterprise Group. As of February, 2018, the company is operational in 23 states of India and manages a loan portfolio of Rs. 6.66 billion for various banks.

Sub-K will use a sizeable amount of the funds for business growth by investing in the expansion of its agent banking network and credit facilitation for micro and small businesses. Some of the amount raised will also be dedicated to strengthening its IT platform that would help the company position itself as a preferred fintech as well as distribution partner for banks and financial institutions.

Sasidhar Thumuluri, CEO of Basix Sub-K said, “Accion and NMI as well as our early investor Michael & Susan Dell Foundation share our vision of a financially included society. Building upon Basix’s two decades of work in financial inclusion, we will be able to continue to invest in innovations and increase our reach multi-fold, thanks to this investment.”

Mar 8 2018

This week, the East Africa Venture Capital Association (EAVCA) with Intellecap Advisory Services released the Fintrek – which explores fintech opportunities in East Africa, new frontiers in fintech (defined as firms using technology to deliver financial products/services or capabilities to customers or others firms) and fintech investments in East Africa.

Asia Pacific and Africa have been harbingers of mobile payments and that is transitioning into fintech now. The Fintrek report notes three underlying factors driving fintech uptake as:

• (i) the use of alternative data to generate credit takings of the unbanked (and deliver services to them cheaply e.g no need for bank branches),
• (ii) peer to peer networks (decentralized collaboration, payments across borders, unregulated) and
• (iii) the emergence of nontraditional players (telcos, wallets like Google Pay & Apple Pay, e-retailers like Amazon)

Regionally, Kenya is seen as a leader in the region owing to its levels of deposit penetration, deep financial sector penetration, and smartphone ownership (at 44% compared to less than 10% for Tanzania Uganda Rwanda and Ethiopia). Kenya is where most fintechs are setting up, and Kenya-based fintechs have raised $204 million between 2000 and 2017 which is 98% of the funding to the region.

Mar 8 2018

As a consultant at Deloitte’s San Francisco office, looking into the strategy and operations of technology, media and telecommunications companies, Nisha Dutt was as far removed from the world of social impact as could be. “I didn’t even know that ‘multilaterals’ referred to institutions like the World Bank,” she says candidly.

Yet, within five years of joining impact investment advisory services firm Intellecap as a senior manager—”I had to return to India for personal reasons. Intellecap pursued me, and I felt the work they were doing was interesting,” she offers—Dutt rose to become CEO. Today she is credited for growing the Hyderabad-based entity into a globally recognised advisory firm that offers investment banking, consulting and research services focussed on the bottom-of-the-pyramid (BoP).

When she joined in 2009, Intellecap—part of the Vineet Rai-run Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group—primarily advised microfinance institutions and multilaterals. But given her earlier avatar, Dutt couldn’t understand why corporates were being left out of Intellecap’s ambit. “Intellecap truly believed in private sector-led development, so I couldn’t understand why they were leaving out such a huge part of the private sector,” she says.

Moreover, it was a time when the mid-market segment was getting increasingly saturated and corporates were looking to target BoP consumers. Leveraging Intellecap’s deep understanding of this base, Dutt went about advising companies such as Unilever on product innovations, go-to-market strategies and distribution, opening up a new revenue stream for Intellecap—”which became much larger than anything else they were doing,” says Dutt, declining to share revenue figures. The company, however, points out that CAGR stands at 21 percent between 2011 and 2018.

Almost a decade on, Dutt continues to be entrepreneurial within the organisation, developing solutions to fill “white spaces” in the market. She spearheaded Startup Wave, a virtual incubation lab to help entrepreneurs in remote parts of the country access the knowledge and mentorship they need; and Creditree to help women entrepreneurs get loans from banks and NBFCs.

Last year she set up Innovation Labs, a platform that scours the best innovations globally, and adapts them to serve the Indian market. For instance, given the proliferation of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes among India’s low-income population, Dutt sourced Israeli and US-based technologies to help with early detection and then keep patients within the medication-and-care loop. In a pilot that was run in Bengaluru, detection rates went up by three times and a large percentage continue to be kept within care. “I always say you should be patriotic about the problem, but democratic about the solution,” she smiles, adding that Innovation Labs turned profitable within a year of operations, a difficult feat to pull off in this space.

Anil Sinha, an ex-International Finance Corporation and World Bank veteran who has worked closely with Dutt, says, “Her on-ground knowledge as well as her courage and conviction to build the ecosystem make her a visionary.”