Unveiling the Journey Map

Mr. Indunath Chaudhary embarked on his career journey in 2009 with the National Dairy Development Board after completing his graduation in Chemical Engineering and post-graduation in Rural Management. Working closely with farmers at the grassroots level in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra, he took the initiative to introduce digital payment systems along with cash flow-based lending for farmers in 2010. Mr. Chaudhary passion for the financial sector led him to join ICICI Bank in 2011, where he took on a variety of roles, including business development, relationship management, credit appraisal, as well as product development. In 2014, he started his journey in the Inclusive Finance vertical at Citi but later transitioned to Transaction Banking. During his time at Citi, he gained extensive exposure along with necessary knowledge in areas such as Supply Chain Finance, Factoring followed by Structured Trade, Cross-Border Payments, and Regulatory Audits. He managed a diverse range of client segments, including MSMEs, large corporations, as well as financial institutions. Mr Chaudhary played a pivotal role in driving significant growth in trade, payments followed by e-commerce segments. He was instrumental in leading the development of many industry-first or market-first solutions tailored for SMEs, E-commerce and the fintech sector.

Story of Origin

Since 2012, Indunath Chaudhary had harboured a desire to pursue his entrepreneurial idea, but it wasn’t until 2022 that he was able to take the next step, thanks to the unwavering support of his spouse as well as family. Throughout his banking career, he was privy to the numerous challenges faced by the MSME segment, ranging from issues in lending to processes followed by payments compliance. Indunath Chaudhary noticed that most technological along with the process developments within banks primarily addressed the challenges of large corporations and their transactions, often neglecting the specific needs of MSMEs. Drawing from the skills and evident knowledge he had acquired in the realms of cross-border trade and payments, he co-founded BRISKPE in 2023 with Sanjay Tripathy and Nilesh Pathak. The core focus of BRISKPE is to address the underserved needs of overlooked segments, empowering them to thrive globally and bolster their overall competitiveness.

Global Economic Landscape

For a considerable time, the Western world has functioned as a consumption-driven market, with the Middle East and Asia primarily serving as suppliers. The economic downturn in the West has had substantial repercussions in the East, which is now witnessing a shift in this trend. Many economies, including India, have been relatively less affected by Western economic woes. This can be attributed to the increasing emphasis on new consumption corridors, as well as domestic consumption, accompanied by a significant rise in per capita income. South-East Asia is emerging not only as producers of goods and services but also as consumers, leading to a surge in both imports and exports. However, there remains a pressing need to streamline trade processes and eventually simplify payment systems to facilitate a borderless trading environment. India is poised to be a significant beneficiary of the changes in the global economy and is actively taking the lead in creating essential public infrastructure and establishing a regulatory framework that is both enabling and compliant.

Tactical Insights

Staying focused on the core of the problem while building solutions and adhering to regulatory compliance as the sole guiding principle has helped BRISKPE reach where they have in the shortest period as compared to any other player in the market. The company has, developed a unique methodology called WWH, which serves as a blueprint for tackling the challenges of product development.

• What is the problem?
• Why does this problem exist?
• How can we overcome this?

Overcoming  the Odds

We operate in a market where regulatory environment and compliance across different geographies remain critical. Some of the players paid heavy regulatory penalties and some were only dependent on investor’s fund to build, launch solutions or burn money to get customers. Sanjay, Nilesh and I decided to build the solution with own funds and use our skills and learnings across technology, customer and regulations to build a sustainable business. With this approach we’ve been able to launch solution in less than 6 months and keep the costs under check, be profitable from day zero and build superior technological solutions which can practically be launched in any geography outside India in just a few weeks.

Utilising Innovation in the Workplace

At BRISKPE, they have embraced a ‘no-door’ culture, where every member of the team is encouraged to share their views and opinions. These contributions are assessed in the context of the company’s central mission: solving the challenges faced by MSMEs. As long as they continue to identify and address the problems their customers encounter, the future of BRISKPE remains secure.

Essence of Leadership Skills

To lead a successful business in today’s competitive landscape, essential leadership qualities include self-awareness, maintaining strong connections with the team, and taking responsibility for failures while focusing on improvement.

Initiatives for Ethical Business and Sustainability

At BRISKPE, the unwavering commitment to ethical business practices and sustainability initiatives is woven into the fabric of our organisation. The company focuses on transparency, fairness, and compliance. The dedication to measuring the impact of these initiatives underscores its commitment to being a responsible and forward-thinking company.

Observed challenges and Opportunities

Fintech innovations in cross-border payments stand out for their customer-centric approach, tailored to current and future needs. Despite their unique potential, these innovations have faced challenges in scaling up rapidly and operating at their full potential. This is primarily due to their dependence on traditional banks, which have been slow to adapt. The recent regulatory approval of a fintech firm acquiring a Small Finance Bank is viewed as a significant opportunity by forward-thinking fintech companies. It’s seen as a chance to transform the way banks, interact with their clients and potentially bridge the gap between traditional financial institutions and the cutting-edge solutions offered by fintech firms.

Industry Insights

Mr. Chaudhary places a strong emphasis on maintaining a close connection with his clients, actively engaging with their concerns and seeking immediate solutions. This approach has been instrumental in keeping him informed about evolving trends, identifying areas for new product development, comprehending the entire ecosystem of products the customers rely on, and being attuned to potential issues or challenges specific to their industries.

Unveiling milestone achievements 

He has also consistently sought out opportunities to pioneer novel initiatives that others may hesitate to undertake. Indunath Chaudhary also received an award from the Global Commercial Banking head at Citi in 2018. This recognition was for successfully executing the first and the highest number of structured trade deals in the Asia-Pacific region. It initially took 10-12 months to execute the first deal of this kind within Commercial Banking, ultimately setting a trend for the segment.

Business Aspirations for Leaders and Young Entrepreneurs

Mr. Indunath Chaudhary has experienced the roles of an employee, a business leader, and an entrepreneur. Regardless of whether the outcomes of any decisions are favourable or not, taking ownership of those decisions is paramount. Treating everyone equally has always been a guiding principle in my journey.

Need for Global Collaboration

In the industry, the essential need to enhance collection and payout mechanisms underscores the critical nature of the business. Fostering global collaborations becomes a vital component of the strategy. Each market boasts payment giants and innovative fintech companies, and collaborating with both provides a competitive advantage. It allows us to remain closely attuned to customer preferences and habits while also staying on the cutting edge of innovations that can bring about increased operational efficiency.

Long-term Goals and Visions

BRISKPE is driven by a vision to offer comprehensive cross-border payment solutions tailored for Small and Medium-sized Businesses. The goal is to facilitate cost-effective, expeditious payments, seamless accessibility, enhanced payment tracking, and a commitment to bank-grade compliance. In this era of profound technological transformation, rapid innovations are set to revolutionise cross-border payments. There are three key areas –

• Instant Payments in Western Geographies: Anticipated advancements in Western regions will focus on the development of instant payment solutions, ensuring quick and efficient cross-border transactions.
• Implementation of CBDCs for Specific Use Cases: Central Bank Digital Currencies are poised to make a notable impact by addressing specific use cases within cross- border payments, introducing greater efficiency and security.
• Blockchain-Based Borderless Payment Rails: The integration of web2 and web3 elements into blockchain technology is expected to yield secure, instantaneous, and compliant payment systems that transcend borders.

To Foundr readers and the wider business community, he would like to emphasize a few key points:

• Embrace Innovation: Innovation is the lifeblood of success in today’s business world. Embrace it, challenge the status quo, and take calculated risks.
• Ethical Business Matters: Uphold unwavering ethics. Trust, transparency, and integrity are not just virtues but also the foundations of sustainable success.
• Prioritise Sustainability: Sustainability isn’t just a trend; it’s a fundamental shift. Making it a core part of the operations.
• Resilience and Adaptability: Be resilient and adaptable. Learn from challenges and failures and use them as stepping stones to future achievements.
• Customer-Centric Approach: Always putting customers at the centre of the strategy. Happy customers are always the best advocates.