An exclusive interview with Mr. Bibhu Prasad Das, CEO & Co-founder of Propelld.
By D.Raghavendra for ET TECH X, July 18, 2024.
Today, we have the privilege of speaking with Bibhu Prasad Das, the CEO and Co-founder of Propelld, a pioneering fintech firm based in Bengaluru. Propelld has garnered attention for its innovative approach in providing personalized education loans to students and families in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India.
Under Bibhu's leadership, Propelld has revolutionized the education financing landscape by integrating deep borrower underwriting and a partner-led model into their lending decisions. This approach ensures that students can access affordable financing tailored to the specific end-use of their chosen courses.
The company's focus extends beyond traditional educational paths to include supplementary and higher education, driven by a data-driven understanding of students' future potential and aspirations. Join us as we delve into Bibhu Prasad Das's insights on Propelld's journey, the future of fintech in education, and the impact of innovative lending models on expanding educational opportunities in India.
Could you elaborate on how Propelld is leveraging technology to increase financial inclusion in education financing, particularly for underserved and underrepresented communities?
Propelld is revolutionizing education financing by making the student loan application process swift, efficient, and user-friendly, particularly for underserved and underrepresented communities. By simplifying the application process and integrating it directly with educational institutions, students can apply for loans with a single click. Propelld leverages AI and ML to automate verification, ensuring accuracy and speed. The platform offers a dual on boarding process—assisted and non-assisted—to cater to a diverse user base, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility. Designed for efficiency, users can complete the entire application process within 5 minutes, and if the applicant's educational institution has a good reputation or the student has a commendable credit history, loan disbursement is almost instantaneous.
Propelld evaluates applicants holistically, considering academic achievements and future earning potential alongside traditional credit scores. This approach broadens access to loans for deserving students who might otherwise be overlooked. The platform’s effectiveness is demonstrated by a high loan completion rate, with over 60% of users finalizing their loans within 5-10 minutes, and a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) rate of less than 1%. Propelld's adaptability, catering to both eKYC and OKYC users, ensures inclusivity. By integrating academic achievements into the evaluation process, Propelld has created a new-age platform that ensures deserving students do not miss out on educational opportunities due to financial constraints.
How does Propelld's underwriting system differ from traditional lenders, and how does it contribute to making education financing more inclusive?
Propelld’s underwriting system differs from traditional lenders by focusing not just on the current financial situation of students but also on their academic performance and potential job outcomes. Traditional methods are often deemed financially weak students ineligible for loans, while Propelld’s approach provides a more comprehensive assessment of a borrower’s repayment capability. By considering academic achievements and the reputation of educational institutions, Propelld better understands a student’s intent and conviction in pursuing higher education, making it easier to determine their willingness and ability to repay the loan.
Additionally, Propelld evaluates the overall family income through a broad analysis rather than relying solely on credit scores. This unconventional risk mitigation strategy enables Propelld to serve a higher number of deserving students, thus making education financing more inclusive.
What specific technological innovations has Propelld implemented to streamline the loan application process and make it more accessible for students from tier 2 and tier 3 cities?
Propelld has implemented several technological innovations to streamline the loan application process and make it more accessible for students from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Through various interfaces for institute counselors, field officers, and students, we source leads for education finance efficiently. Our customer onboarding process utilizes advanced technologies for collecting and verifying PII data, including PAN and Aadhaar through government APIs like NSDL and DigiLocker, and performing video verification of customers. We leverage Account Aggregator for bank statements and Experian for credit bureau data, ensuring comprehensive KYC data collection and processing. Our automated credit engine and risk analysis enhance underwriting accuracy. Propelld’s in-house Loan Origination System (LOS) manages data from verification to loan approval, while our payment system integrates with multiple aggregators like Razorpay and Cashfree for seamless transactions. We also have a robust document management platform, ten web application interfaces for managing leads and loan processes, and a platform for EMI collection and real-time delinquency reporting. Additionally, our automated foreclosure system, nodal/escrow management platform, and supplier/NBFC aggregation platform ensure efficient loan disbursement and compliance. All these innovations, supported by cloud infrastructure, make education financing more inclusive and accessible for students across India
Can you share some success stories or case studies where Propelld's technology-driven approach has enabled students from underprivileged backgrounds to access quality education through financing?
Success Story: Empowering Dreams with Technology-Driven Education Financing
Meet Anjali (name changed), a determined student from a small village who aspired to become an orthopaedic surgeon. Coming from a humble background, her parents, who are engaged in buffalo cattle farming, faced financial constraints as their business operates primarily on cash transactions, lacking formal financial documentation. Despite these challenges, Anjali's passion for education and her unwavering dedication to her dreams drove her forward.
Anjali had initially taken a hand loan to cover her first-year fees, but the financial burden was overwhelming. This is where Propelld stepped in, leveraging our technology-driven approach to make quality education accessible for students like Anjali. Understanding her unique situation, we assessed her application holistically, taking into account her academic performance and future potential rather than just traditional credit scores.
Propelld provided Anjali with a two-year loan to cover her education costs, enabling her to focus on her studies without financial stress. Our seamless onboarding process, utilizing advanced KYC technologies and automated credit engine, ensured a quick and efficient loan approval. Anjali was able to get her first-year fees refunded and continue her education without any interruptions.
Today, Anjali is well on her way to achieving her dream of becoming an orthopedic surgeon, thanks to the financial support from Propelld. Her story is a testament to how our innovative approach to education financing can transform the lives of students from underprivileged backgrounds, providing them with the opportunity to pursue their dreams and contribute to society.
Anjali's success story highlights the impact of Propelld's inclusive, technology-driven solutions in making quality education accessible to all, regardless of their financial background.
How does Propelld ensure transparency and fairness in its loan approval process, especially when assessing applicants who may lack traditional financial documentation or collateral?
Propelld ensures transparency and fairness in its loan approval process by leveraging a holistic and technology-driven approach, particularly for applicants lacking traditional financial documentation or collateral. By considering academic performance, institutional reputation, and future earning potential, we provide a comprehensive assessment of an applicant's creditworthiness. Our use of advanced technologies, such as government data repositories, video verification, and account aggregators, streamlines and automates the verification process, enhancing accuracy and efficiency. This ensures that deserving students receive fair access to education financing, regardless of their financial background.
What trends in fintech and education financing are we leveraging to stay ahead of the competition?
Propelld is leveraging key trends in fintech and education financing to stay ahead of the competition. By adopting government data repositories, we simplify data collection and significantly reduce the turnaround time (TAT) for the overall processing, particularly in underwriting. This streamlined approach enhances efficiency and speeds up loan approvals.
Building compliant solutions alongside technological adoption is another crucial factor. Propelld has implemented robust compliance measures, ensuring that we not only meet regulatory standards but also foster trust and reliability among our users. This strategic focus keeps us competitive in the rapidly evolving fintech landscape.
However, we recognize the need for continuous improvement in customer experience and process optimization. By adopting advanced AI and ML technologies, we aim to further enhance customer interactions, standardize processes, and optimize operations. These innovations will allow us to provide a seamless, user-friendly experience, ensuring we remain at the forefront of education financing.
Our commitment to leveraging these trends underscores our dedication to providing inclusive, efficient, and reliable education financing solutions, helping students achieve their educational goals with ease.
With the increasing popularity of online education platforms, how is Propelld adapting its financing solutions to accommodate students pursuing non-traditional educational routes?
Propelld supports financing for non-traditional education paths like online courses, coding boot camps, and vocational programs because they believe in democratizing access to education and enabling individuals to fulfil their educational dreams. Propelld also provides loans for online distance learning and coaching loans. Here are a few reasons why Propelld's vision aligns with supporting alternative forms of learning:
1. Access to Educational Opportunities: Propelld recognizes that not all individuals can or want to pursue traditional college or university degrees. By providing financing options for non-traditional education paths, they ensure that aspiring learners have equal access to a diverse range of educational opportunities.
2. Rapidly Evolving Job Market: In today's rapidly evolving job market, employers increasingly value skills gained through non-traditional educational avenues like coding boot camps or vocational programs. Propelld's support for financing these paths acknowledges the changing dynamics of the job market and helps students acquire relevant skills to enhance their employability.
3. Flexibility and Affordability: Online courses, coding boot camps, and vocational programs often offer more flexibility in terms of timing, location, and duration compared to traditional education. Propelld recognizes that many individuals prefer these options due to their affordability and practicality. By offering finance, Propelld helps make these educational paths financially accessible to a wider range of students.
4. Personalized Learning Journeys: Each individual has unique educational aspirations and learning preferences. Propelld's support for non-traditional education acknowledges the need for personalized learning journeys. Whether someone wants to pursue a specialized coding program, an online course in digital marketing, or a vocational program to develop specific skills, Propelld aims to empower students to pursue their educational dreams and career goals.
Overall, Propelld's vision to democratize access to education includes supporting alternative forms of learning because we believe that every educational dream deserves to be fulfilled, regardless of the chosen educational path.
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