NEW DELHI: Indifi Technologies has appointed Rajnish Kumar, the former chairman of the State Bank of India, as an advisor. In this role, he will work with management to develop the company’s growth strategy and provide guidance in the financial services sector.
Kumar currently serves on the boards of several companies, including HSBC Asia Pacific, L&T Infotech, Hero MotoCorp NSE 0.60 percent, and BharatPe. His tenure with SBI spanned 40 years, ending with his retirement as chairman in October 2020. He previously held the positions of Managing Director of the National Banking Group and Managing Director of Compliance & Risk at SBI.
“The MSME sector and their credit gap have been a serious problem for India,” Kumar said of the appointment. Indifi is making significant progress in this area. Their ecosystem-based lending approach has taken advantage of the opportune intersection of digital platforms used by MSMEs and advancements in data and technology. They have not only succeeded in removing barriers to MSME financing, but they have also enabled credit efficiency for their lending partners. “I am excited to be working with the Indifi team to unlock future growth opportunities and create value for all of the company’s stakeholders.”
Kumar has previously served as a non-executive director at HSBC’s Asia unit in Hong Kong, as a senior advisor to Baring Private Equity Asia, and as an advisor to Kotak Investment Advisors. He recently joined Dun & Bradstreet’s international strategic advisory board, a global provider of business decisioning data and analytics.
Alok Mittal, CEO and co-founder of Indifi Technologies, said in a statement, “Kumar is regarded as a torchbearer of Digital India.” This, combined with his experience and knowledge of the banking and financial services industries, will be extremely beneficial to Indifi’s ambitions to expand credit inclusion among Indian MSMEs.”
