Photo by Tukaram.Karve on Shutterstock Meet Deepak “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” This Albert Einstein quote has deeply inspired Deepak to pursue his entrepreneurial passion and direct his drive towards the fintech ecosystem. Deepak is an engineer and a management graduate with a keen… Continue reading Byte the Coin — Designing Digital Money for Bharat
Abstract: BotGo was started in 2007 by Ravi Panchal, an engineer, after he lost motivation to continue at a managerial role at his job. A hands-on technical person, Panchal was inspired to create an underwater tank-cleaning robot. He started BotGo by bootstrapping it with his savings and roped in his friends for key positions in… Continue reading BotGo: Determining product-market-fit for a robotics venture in India
“You see that there?” Chandrabhan says, pointing to a close circuit camera perched on top of a pole at a moderately busy intersection. “I have to stay within its range, else my supervisor will raise a complaint” he continues. He motions me to pull up a chair, so that I may be comfortable as we… Continue reading People of Bharat: Chandrabhan, Ahmedabad
Photo by shameer pk on Shutterstock In the previous blog, we discussed about the significance of informal finance in the lives of slum dwellers and outlined some of the legislations related to moneylending activities issued by various states in India. This blog discusses why informal lending market is sticky and not easy to substitute with formal lending; and… Continue reading Why formal loans may never substitute informal loans
I buy my weekly stock of vegetables from Tulsiram. His handcart is almost filled with 40 varieties of vegetables in winter; a riot of solid, comforting colors in green, white, red, yellow, purple and orange. While I regretted my purchases from elsewhere, I often wondered where he came from and how he always managed to… Continue reading People of Bharat: Tulsiram, Ahmedabad
Photo by Santhosh Varghese on Shutterstock Imagine if a person came on her/his feet or on her/his two-wheeler and offered you credit in way that seems inexpensive and customized. The lender is also able to sympathize and act as a life coach to your financial problems. Now imagine this to be a lived reality for a substantial… Continue reading How do slum dwellers borrow?
As highlighted in our previous blog, researchers often face numerous issues relating to politics, local culture, corruption, natural calamities etc. during field research. While many of these issues can be resolved by instating protocols and processes; at times, however, these can result in changes to the research design, methodology, or the sample. We briefly discuss… Continue reading Part 2: Field Research- Turning challenges into opportunities
Photo by Alena Dafna on Shutterstock Abdul is a high school teacher in a school in Delhi. He has a stable income source, a job that is unlikely to disappear and most likely the first stable income earner in his family. Abdul’s household is a representative Indian household: financial dependents that are old (parents) and young (children),… Continue reading Why do suboptimal financial products work?
I stand outside the door of her flat and ring the bell. Then I step back and see pictures of both Christ and Ganesha on the door. This is Neeta’s house, a woman who sells sprouts in a local vegetable market in the southern part of the town of Surat in Gujarat. Neeta welcomes… Continue reading People of Bharat: Neeta, Surat
Photo by Thunderstock on Shutterstock. When we started with the idea of Project Kish, we were enthralled by the blank canvas we had and the work that we could do in this regard. But as we went along, we quickly realized that an idea so radical needed a radical solutioning approach. Where a captive designer would give… Continue reading The difficulty of being earnest
His name is Satrudhan but people call him Satish. So I call him Satish too. As I sit down to ask him questions, a group of two or three men gather around us, curious about what’s happening. I explain to them that it is a confidential interview about one’s incomes and savings. “Is that so?”… Continue reading People of Bharat: Satrudhan, Ahmedabad
Photo by RawPixel on Shutterstock “ It is better to be unique than the best. Because, being the best makes you the number one, but being unique makes you the only one.” Justice A.K Sikri announced his judgement on the writ petition of 2012 on Aadhaar’s validity on 26th September, 2018. On that day, Suresh… Continue reading It is better to be unique than the best