UPI yet to reach a tipping point: Dilip Asbe; Perfios’ Goswami on regulation
UPI already reaches 300 million consumers and has the potential to grow 2-3x, according to Asbe.
It's a wrap at TechSparks Mumbai.
We kickstarted Day 2 with an energetic pitch fest, followed by discussions around fintech, specifically UPI, with Dilip Asbe, MD and CEO of NPCI. Asbe shed light on the need for large amounts of investment in UPI to make it even more inclusive. He believes it has the potential to grow 10X in the coming five years.
Also, Swapna Gupta of Avaana Capital and Rehan Yar Khan of Orios Venture Partners deep-dived into India's green energy mission.
Picking up on day 1’s edtech discussion, Eruditus’ Ashwin Damera and ’s Mayank Kumar shared their insights into building the Indian education market for 2030.
And for the grand finale, the formidable Shark and Founder and CEO of and People Group, Anupam Mittal, took the stage for a candid fireside chat.
While the curtains draw on TechSparks Mumbai, you can catch all our coverage from the event here!
In other news, shares of food delivery platform hit a record high on Friday, trading at Rs 173.5 apiece, up 5%, as improving profitability paves the way for future growth, triggering a turnaround in investor sentiment.
Meanwhile, the Financial Intelligence Unit on Friday imposed a penalty of $662,565 on 's banking arm, Paytm Payments Bank, for alleged money laundering.
ICYMI: Millennials are set to become the richest generation in history!
But there’s a catch!
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- UPI yet to reach a tipping point: Dilip Asbe
- Perfios’ Goswami on regulation, innovation
- Anupam Mittal’s investment philosophy
Here’s your trivia for today: What are the odds of having a Leap Day birthday?
TechSparks
UPI yet to reach a tipping point: NPCI’s Dilip Asbe
India's fintech ecosystem is perched on the cusp of extraordinary growth—10x in payments, 1,000x in insurance, 10,000x in credit—over the next five years. These are real estimates from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation running retail payments in the country.
The driver of this growth is UPI, which hit a record Rs 18.4 lakh crore worth of transactions in January this year. But it is still far from reaching its "actual tipping point", and will see "well-rounded growth" on both the merchant and consumer side, NPCI CEO Dilip Asbe said at TechSparks Mumbai.
Future:
- UPI already reaches 300 million consumers and has the potential to grow 2-3x, according to Asbe.
- He believes "responsible innovation" is the way to go for fintechs, and also acknowledges that it is "innovation that has gotten India to where it is today".
- Banks and fintechs will have to make these investments, and that capital—along with digital payment incentives the government has announced—will make the UPI infrastructure more inclusive, Asbe said.
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TechSparks
Perfios’ Goswami on regulation, innovation
The RBI’s directive against Paytm Payments Bank may have unsettled the fintech startups in the country, but Sabyasachi Goswami, CEO of B2B SaaS fintech company , believes the regulator has always been open to technology innovation.
Key takeaways:
- Goswami, who had been a banker before joining Perfios, remarked that it was a misconception that there were no regulations and that financial services was always a regulated industry.
- According to the CEO, many banks are using technologies—not to disrupt their core operations but to create newer segments and customers whom they haven't been able to service.
- Goswami said that Perfios’s potential listing plans will depend on whether the company can hit its goals of sustainable growth and profitability.
TechSparks
Anupam Mittal’s investment philosophy
Long before he became a household name due to Shark Tank India, Anupam Mittal made category-creating investments. Most of his portfolio companies have grown to be successful businesses— Cabs, , , , and , among others.
With over 20 years of experience in the Indian startup ecosystem, Mittal—the Founder and CEO of Shaadi.com and People Group—believes much like his entrepreneurial journey, his “investing journey has changed” over the years.
Success mantra:
- According to Mittal, one of the key learnings from his entrepreneurial journey is to understand timing is everything. "When it comes to building companies and enterprises, timing is everything."
- During a fireside chat, Mittal revealed his investment philosophy—inside and outside Shark Tank India. The three things, he said, that play a pivotal role in making investment decisions are—team, timing, and TAM (Total Addressable Market).
- Mittal said while capital infusion is important, it can't be equated to entrepreneurship. He highlighted that there is a misconception among entrepreneurs regarding the necessity of constant validation through fundraising.
News & updates
- Lawsuit: Elon Musk is suing Microsoft-backed and its CEO Sam Altman, among others, alleging they abandoned the company’s founding mission to develop artificial intelligence “for the benefit of humanity broadly.”
- One-time: India’s surge in economic growth to above 8% last quarter was distorted by a single category, economists said. According to Bloomberg, an unexpected drop in government subsidies was the main reason for the surge, giving an artificial boost to the net indirect tax category used to calculate GDP.
- Shutdown: Meta is trying to distance itself from news media-related regulations and payment complexities as it is planning to remove the news tab on Facebook in the US and Australia. The company said today that it will sunset the product in April 2024.
What are the odds of having a Leap Day birthday?
Answer: One in 1,461 chance.
According to the Associated Press, there are about 5 million people worldwide who share the Leap Day birthday out of about 8 billion people on the planet.
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