HDFC Bank is ready to serve the next wave of Indian startup needs: Sunali Rohra

Profitability, and not just ideas, will be at the centre of startup funding conversations going forward. That is what Sunali Rohra expects will be one of the two next big things for the entrepreneurial ecosystem. “In business, profit has always been fundamental. That is beginning to become key again not just in India, but the world over,” says the head of government and institutional banking, startups and gig banking at HDFC Bank, who looks after the bank’s business with startups. 

“Money is chasing profit now, money is not chasing ideas alone. Both are important, but you need a profitable idea,” she emphasises.

Rohra has been with HDFC Bank—India’s largest private sector lender—for over five years. A nonlinear hire from outside the banking world, the Oxford alumna took charge of the bank’s offerings for governments and institutions, in addition to leading its startup and gig banking verticals. HDFC Bank extends products including loans and insurance to startups through an impressive distribution network of over 8,000 branches. 

The second big thing on the anvil for budding enterprises, according to Rohra, is the impetus they will get from the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). “The fundamental thesis of ONDC is to provide digital real estate to every business through a protocol-based system. Imagine if every business gets digital real estate, you’re going to see a whole league of products—textiles, home entrepreneurs, exporters of goods and handicrafts, etc—as ONDC gathers momentum.” 

Rohra is looking forward to supporting the flood of startups that will emerge against this backdrop. “HDFC was also a startup when it began. We have always believed that startups play an important role in India and need to be nurtured.”

Understanding startup needs

Already, HDFC Bank has tailored BFSI products, taking note of particular challenges faced by startup founders.

Rohra lists a few. Founders of up-and-coming businesses often struggle to get credit cards, so the bank launched commercial cards for personal expenses and professional expenses, backed by fixed deposits. The bank also set up a regulatory reporting desk with the RBI, as part of its retail FX trade desk, which helps funded startups easily make regulatory filings for the inward remittances they receive. 

The bank offers lending to startups too, under the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS), based on criteria defined by the government. Further, since startups are not usually able to give group insurance to their employees, HDFC worked with its group company to introduce an insurance policy product specifically for startups. 

The bank’s large reach ensures no startup is left out of the ambit of its services. “Ubiquity of product is what we’ve always done as a bank. So it’s not that you have to be in Mumbai or Bengaluru to use our products, you can be in Muzaffarabad and still get our products there,” says Rohra. 

Recent data shows that tier-II and tier-III cities account for about 50% of more than 115,000 startups registered by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as of December 31, 2023. It helps that 52% of HDFC’s branches are in semi-urban and rural areas. 

As the scope of digital India rises, so do the demands on the financial ecosystem. In this scenario, banker Rohra views fintech players as collaborators rather than competition. She explains this with the help of the diffusion theory, on which she had once authored a paper at Oxford University. 

“To diffuse any innovation, you need actors, networks and institutions. Unless you have all three, large-scale diffusion does not take place. So the fintechs, as well as the banks, are part of an ecosystem where everyone is interdependent.” HDFC Bank is working closely with Razorpay, in one such example of collaboration—the two recently launched Collect Now to simplify offline and online payments for government and institutional payments.

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Building for the future of work

Rohra also sees a big opportunity in serving the growing base of gig workers. “Today, 40% of the US workforce are freelancers. So there is a big debate globally about the future of work.” She points out that gig work is rising across the continuum in India too—including blue, grey, and white-collar workforces. “We are a large, vibrant country with a large young demographic. I think there is room to create products for this segment, who want to do freelance work by choice, who want to enjoy their independence and still make a living.” 

The bank will soon cater to this freelance workforce. “We are working on a very innovative set of products for them. We will launch soon and that’s when we can tell you more,” shares Rohra, hinting at big things to come. 

Building for the future is only possible when you have your finger on the pulse of your industry, your company, and the times you are living in. Rohra is one such person; she knows how to listen, and she understands that learning often comes from the unlikeliest of sources. She finds constant inspiration in the young, vibrant employees on her team. “They are not afraid to ask questions from which I learn something and they learn something too. Those are some of the most enriching conversations I have at work.” In her five years in a top banking position, Rohra says she has prioritised courage, persistence, and servant leadership. 

She also places importance on mentoring junior colleagues. “The learning never stops. A very important part of being a leader is personal growth. That’s the way I look at it,” she concludes.  As she inspires the next generation within HDFC Bank, Rohra's leadership philosophy positions her as a prominent voice in the Indian financial sector.