Bhavin Patel
Founder& CEO
Today, there are many fintech companies offering P2P loans in the best interest of lenders and borrowers. However, a strong credit model, low default rates and easy loan application options are the game modulators. And in line with these, growing exemplarily amongst the horde of P2P platforms is LenDenClub, a 6 year-old fintech start-up stands differentiated, offering customized P2P loan products addressing the customer requirements. The brains behind the establishment of LenDenClub are Bhavin Patel & along with Dipesh Karki. Bhavin Patel, CEO & Co-Founder, is a B.Tech (ECE) graduate from South Gujarat University and MBA (Marketing & Finance) from KIAMS while Dipesh is an NIT-Kurukshetra graduate has developed workflow solutions for leading entities across diverse sectors such as the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Consultancy Development Centre (CDC), Ministry of Science & Technology with the Government of India.
Redefining the fintech-lending space of the global finance industry, Bhavin has been passionately leading the company, bringing together diversified investors and verified borrowers together on a single platform. He has been a part of the financial services industry from the last 13 years. CEO Insights engages in an exclusive conversation with Bhavin to explore more about the start-up and his strategies of leading LenDenClub.
Please walk us through LenDenClub’s inception story.
Yeah. So, the inception story of LenDenClub is extensively triggered by necessity. Despite being a B.Tech (ECE) graduate, I always had a penchant for management, hence I
had pursued MBA and post that worked for several NBFCs (from 2008-2014) in the role of Consultant as well as employee. During the time spent in those recognized NBFCs, I realised that they have a spectacular business acumen, but often lag behind in lending due to capital shortage. I assumed there had to be some solution (apart from a different mode of sourcing capital other than banks), hence ideas about liberating financial lending kept floating in my mind.
Later, during my time at Electronica Finance, one of my colleagues reached out to me and told me about his struggle to avail a personal loan from ICICI bank and other NBFCs, although he had a decent salary income. I tried helping him by reaching out to the bank’s branch manager but all in vain. Remarkably, that was the trigger moment when I decided to step in and do something for entry level borrowers in India. Later on, LenDenClub was founded in order to help those who could not avail financial assistance from the traditional institutions.
The P2P NBFC sector has seen phenomenal growth in recent years. Tell us how LenDenClub carves a niche amidst the fintech-based lending industry?
LenDenClub is one the novel and pioneering P2P lending platform in India that allows individuals to get fast & hassle-free small ticket personal loans or become lenders to earn higher interest on their investments. Additionally, its user-friendly tech-efficacy, seamless operation and proactive customer support has made it a popular choice for many individuals. What makes us best is our P2P lending app window that lists only pre-verified borrowers on the platform, assures solid returns on investments to lenders that too on diversified investment (even as low as Rs. 500). Our platform provides two types of loan product- one is a salaried borrower loan product (up to Rs. 25,000) and another businesses merchant loan product (up to Rs. 1,50,000). To smoothen the transaction process, we have associated with three renowned online payment platforms GPay, BharatPe, and Indifi. Our credit assessment and collection efficiencies keep us apart in the crowded digital lending industry of India. We insanely focus on the speed of loan assessment and
What makes us best is our P2P lending app window that lists only pre-verified borrowers on the platform, assures solid returns on investments to lenders that too on diversified investment
Later, during my time at Electronica Finance, one of my colleagues reached out to me and told me about his struggle to avail a personal loan from ICICI bank and other NBFCs, although he had a decent salary income. I tried helping him by reaching out to the bank’s branch manager but all in vain. Remarkably, that was the trigger moment when I decided to step in and do something for entry level borrowers in India. Later on, LenDenClub was founded in order to help those who could not avail financial assistance from the traditional institutions.
The P2P NBFC sector has seen phenomenal growth in recent years. Tell us how LenDenClub carves a niche amidst the fintech-based lending industry?
LenDenClub is one the novel and pioneering P2P lending platform in India that allows individuals to get fast & hassle-free small ticket personal loans or become lenders to earn higher interest on their investments. Additionally, its user-friendly tech-efficacy, seamless operation and proactive customer support has made it a popular choice for many individuals. What makes us best is our P2P lending app window that lists only pre-verified borrowers on the platform, assures solid returns on investments to lenders that too on diversified investment (even as low as Rs. 500). Our platform provides two types of loan product- one is a salaried borrower loan product (up to Rs. 25,000) and another businesses merchant loan product (up to Rs. 1,50,000). To smoothen the transaction process, we have associated with three renowned online payment platforms GPay, BharatPe, and Indifi. Our credit assessment and collection efficiencies keep us apart in the crowded digital lending industry of India. We insanely focus on the speed of loan assessment and
delivery of the same. As far as the speed of loan delivery is concerned, in this case we give a challenge to the majority of the banks, today because it’s the speed that sets us apart from other players.
Most importantly, it is our diversified team and their experience that complements our proficiency in reaping the most of success. Be it our Co-Founder Dipesh Karki, or other core team members Nicky Sehwani (Chief Growth Officer), Rital Gangadia (Head Credit Department), Rajat Sinha (Product Manager), and Kumar Konar (Business Development Manager/Collection Manager), they are our pillars and possess a very strong education background, industry insights and experience. Our overall strength is around 65 and we are all bound with a common vision and aspiration to fulfill it together
What’s the eligibility criteria and the process one should follow to avail loans on your platform?
Since it’s a digital platform, the complete loan process is quite easy. Once an individual downloads our app, he/she can check for the eligibility, and then apply for the loan by entering the personal information, KYC details (mandatory as per RBI norms), and some financial data-points. Our system gets the KYC verification done, while our algorithm confirms all data and approves the loan within a fraction of minutes. The eligibility criteria for availing loan are- the person should have a fixed income of not less than Rs. 10,000, and not be a defaulter on his current liability/any loans.
What further plans do you have for the future?
LenDenClub has always been an innovator! All our products for lenders & borrowers are very unique and technology-driven. We are definitely ahead of the competition, and have procured more than Rs. 1,000 crore worth of investments. We aim to cross Rs. 1,200 crore disbursals in the current fiscal year. In the next 3-6 months period, we are coming up with one or two more products which are already under working.
Bhavin Patel, Founder& CEO, LenDenClub
A B.Tech (ECE) and PGDM (Finance & Marketing) graduate Bhavin is a trained six-sigma expert and holds over 13 years of experience in helping 10+NBFCs raise funds, setup new operations and ERP solutions occupying significant roles of a Consultant, Advisor, Business Development Manager, AVP-Finance, and more. Currently, he is busy taking fintech-based lending to last mile person in the smallest village through LenDenClub.
Hobbies:Playing football
Favourite Cuisine:Punjabi dishes
Favourite Book:Dream Big
Travel Destination: I love Maldives (the serenity it provides is good for work as well as short leisure stays)
Most importantly, it is our diversified team and their experience that complements our proficiency in reaping the most of success. Be it our Co-Founder Dipesh Karki, or other core team members Nicky Sehwani (Chief Growth Officer), Rital Gangadia (Head Credit Department), Rajat Sinha (Product Manager), and Kumar Konar (Business Development Manager/Collection Manager), they are our pillars and possess a very strong education background, industry insights and experience. Our overall strength is around 65 and we are all bound with a common vision and aspiration to fulfill it together
What’s the eligibility criteria and the process one should follow to avail loans on your platform?
Since it’s a digital platform, the complete loan process is quite easy. Once an individual downloads our app, he/she can check for the eligibility, and then apply for the loan by entering the personal information, KYC details (mandatory as per RBI norms), and some financial data-points. Our system gets the KYC verification done, while our algorithm confirms all data and approves the loan within a fraction of minutes. The eligibility criteria for availing loan are- the person should have a fixed income of not less than Rs. 10,000, and not be a defaulter on his current liability/any loans.
What further plans do you have for the future?
LenDenClub has always been an innovator! All our products for lenders & borrowers are very unique and technology-driven. We are definitely ahead of the competition, and have procured more than Rs. 1,000 crore worth of investments. We aim to cross Rs. 1,200 crore disbursals in the current fiscal year. In the next 3-6 months period, we are coming up with one or two more products which are already under working.
Bhavin Patel, Founder& CEO, LenDenClub
A B.Tech (ECE) and PGDM (Finance & Marketing) graduate Bhavin is a trained six-sigma expert and holds over 13 years of experience in helping 10+NBFCs raise funds, setup new operations and ERP solutions occupying significant roles of a Consultant, Advisor, Business Development Manager, AVP-Finance, and more. Currently, he is busy taking fintech-based lending to last mile person in the smallest village through LenDenClub.
Hobbies:Playing football
Favourite Cuisine:Punjabi dishes
Favourite Book:Dream Big
Travel Destination: I love Maldives (the serenity it provides is good for work as well as short leisure stays)