Learn how a fintech startup like Propelld can let you learn without financial constraints
- ByStartupStory | January 2, 2023
In an exclusive interview with Startup Story Media, the Co-founder of Propelld advised young entrepreneurs to pursue their startups with passion and determination.
In the early months of 2017, Propelld set out to transform the way that education was financed, motivated by the writings of renowned economist Milton Friedman. This was made possible by the types of backgrounds the founding team came from, ones that placed a high value on education.
This motivated them to leave their prestigious positions at some of the biggest banks in the world and travel the length and breadth of the nation to speak to organizations and students. The stark contrast between the options for financing education and what the student needs became apparent to them as they went along. Armed with this information, the founding team began negotiations with lenders and put their money on the line to create financing products that would be useful to the right students.
The founding team of Bibhu Prasad Das, Brijesh Samantaray and Victor Senapaty saw the validation of their actions by both students and Institute partners as they escalated from segment to segment with our differentiated products, and education-focused underwriting policies. The model of Propelld is an India where access to the right education for the right student is not limited by financial constraints. And little by little, they are striving to make progress.
Co-founder of Propelld, Bhibhu Prasad Das in an exclusive interview with Startup Story Media said, “We wanted to create something big and impactful for the future. We shortlisted 2-3 things which we wanted from our startup: 1. The problem we address should be closely identified with. 2. We, the founders’ team were born and brought up in typical middle-class families where education was the most important priority which can have a huge impact on anyone’s life. We wanted something big and believed in the financial ecosystem in India where credit penetration is very low. There is huge scope for financing companies to come into the big picture and solve the problem of accessibility. 3. We had experience in the finance industry correlating to the fact that we want to address the problem of accessibility of finance to the low-income groups and help them make better educational decisions to better their lives going forward.”
Mission of Propelld
“The mission of Propelld is to revolutionize the face of financing for the entire education ecosystem.” The company’s mission is to be India’s preferred financial partner for education.
Growth and Development
In the winter of November 2017, they spent two months conversing with 50 lenders before finding themselves in a small cabin outside of Bangalore, the offices of a specialised NBFC. The first vote of confidence was the outcome of numerous defeats. After terms were settled, Propelld had an NBFC partner.
Propelld collaborated with more than 50 Institute partners between January and June of 2018. Now, Propelld’s products help students at illustrious schools like NIIT. This fintech startup has assisted numerous students from India’s tier 2 and tier 3 cities in realising their aspirations. A major milestone was reached in March 2020 when Propelld expanded its product offerings from vocational institutes to products for skill-based learning courses and income-sharing model institutes.
Das contends that because digital payments affect the lives of regular people, they significantly increase the efficiency of the entire process. As a result, solutions like these, which have been certified by the RBI and are being quickly embraced, are very beneficial. The real effort required to recover money from the consumer is reduced because auto-debit options and other choices are available, which minimizes the cost of collections.
Das believes that the RBI has made a good adjustment to the rules governing digital lending, which will control its fintech role. He observes a change for the better from the RBI, which has started to acknowledge that there are patterns for supporting life in the ecosystem. To assure the protection of all the parties involved in that entire ecosystem, they are developing measures. Investor interest increased as the expansion journey went on. Initiated a pre-series by Propelld an investment round from India Quotient and Stellaris Venture Partners, both of whom they respected. In the boardroom of the fintech business, a new journey has begun.
A Student’s Dream Isn’t Rare
More than 1.5 lakh parents/students and 1,000+ educational institutions are served by Propelld today. Propelld is expanding with an annual disbursal run rate of INR 1200 Crores with NPAs below 1%.
The founders are committed to growing into newer markets, comprehending the difficulties, and gaining a deeper comprehension of the products that must be created to let students choose their courses of study without regard to cost.
COVID- A Boon to Propelld
COVID was a huge help to their business. Online service providers at the time were extremely popular. Since then, Propelld has not turned back. Bibhu thinks that educational institutions now recognise them as lifelong allies who will support them through good times and bad.
“COVID was a boon for us in a way because it allowed us to mark our presence in the education domain. Second, it assists us in prioritizing the things that are important to us, which will allow us to exist in that domain. It has enabled us to enter markets we could not previously enter due to a lack of capital,” said Das when asked about how the COVID outbreak affected the company.
Wise words for Young Entrepreneurs
“I think a startup journey is going to have its ups and downs. You need to have a very good course set of people that can support you through that process. Keep in mind, an enormous amount of patience and determination is also required to go through this time.” remarked Bibhu Prasad Das, Co-Founder of Propelld.
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