Clear, consistent policies will boost confidence of international investors: Kunal Shah
Cred Founder Kunal Shah says the government should bring in consistency and clarity, so that 'investors can take a five or 10-year view, and not get any surprises'.
Kunal Shah, the Founder of credit card payment app Cred, on Wednesday said policies around subjects like taxation needed to be consistent and clear to attract international investors that are writing large cheques for Indian startups.
The entrepreneur also urged the government to introduce financial literacy programmes that can educate consumers about various investment options.
"Our ask from the government is that they bring in consistency and clarity, so that investors can take a five or 10-year view, and not get any surprises, to give comfort to investors that things will not change (suddenly)," he said.
Kunal said countries like Singapore had shown consistent growth trajectory on the back of stable policies. "India isn't getting small cheques anymore; many companies are raising a lot of capital. I think we do not want to be a country that gets small cheques and large cheques require consistency," he added.
Kunal, who had previously founded fintech platform Freecharge, said there was a need for financial literacy programmes that could educate consumers on the need to invest to increase prosperity.
"Many people are still afraid of getting credit cards because they don't want to be caught in a payment loop; they are afraid of defaulting on payments. However, with the right planning, some of these financial products can help people enhance their financial well being," he said.
Kunal Shah is an entrepreneur who is constantly raising the bar of doing business. In August 2019 , Cred was in the news for raising close to $120 million within nine month of its launch, as a part of its Series B round. It was led by fintech fund Ribbit Capital, Gemini Investments, and existing investor Sequoia Capital (through its fund, SCI Investments V).
Over the years, he has invested in a lot of startups and has also spent some time at Y Combinator and Sequoia. The key to raising funds, Kunal said, was to understand what the other party wants - just like one has to do in a relationship.
"We often confuse what people want and end up doing our thing, hoping that somebody will pay attention or will probably give us money, but it does not happen because we have not taken the time to understand what they want,” he said.
In a recent interview with YourStory CEO Shradha Sharma , Kunal Shah said that Cred was more than just a fintech company. "People assume that we are a fintech company. No. We are a lifestyle company. We are creating a network of high-trust people and eventually we want members to do interesting things. Tomorrow, classified could be a potential business for us, or apartment listing.”
(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context.)
(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)
