Monami Dasgupta

Our guest for the 4th episode of the D91 Labs Idea Series is Sasidhar Thumuluri, MD and CEO of Sub-K impact solution. Sub-K is a digital finance (Fintech) company that offers affordable, accessible, and scalable financial and payment services to the underserved segment.

In this extensive interview, we ask Sasidhar some hard questions about digitizing the decades-old business model of cash-based MFI loan repayments. Sub-K has witnessed steady growth in the number of digital repayment made by its borrowers. This interview could be relevant to MFI institutions and researchers. 

D91 Labs on YouTube

D91 Labs Idea Series - #4 Sasidhar Thumuluri

Mahavir Chopra is the Founder and CEO of Beshak.org. He has 17 yrs of experience in digital insurance distribution before it was called Insurtech and previously worked at Coverfox. In this interview, we have discussed some of the challenges in building and distributing suitable, tailored, and unbiased insurance-related services. 


D91 Labs Idea Series - #3 Mahavir Chopra

Kalpitha Jagadeesh

Neeti Bhatt

No matter how much I have studied, the environment in a village is such that most of us are not very technologically savvy and are unaware of how to transition to the digital age without assistance.

Banking on women

#20 Arundathi | Chief of all trades

Delving into digital payment usage patterns of small vendors, and the role of UX research and design in building financially inclusive products for new smartphone users.

The QR code revolution in payments — what's missing?

Several times, irrespective of my skill sets, organizations have decided not to move forward with me because I don’t have the right qualifications on paper.

#19 Raksha | Mastering the hustle culture despite setbacks

I am not aware of how to do things online, so I rely on my husband to manage my finances. But with the right guidance, I hope to change that for myself soon.

#18 Farah | Silver lining of cloud kitchens

I am happy where I currently am because there have been many ups and downs in my life before. Therefore, I feel as long as things are going smoothly, it’s fine.

#17 Pavitra | The power of starting small

Sonal Agrawal, COO and co-founder of Lakshya inclusion services, 
talks about innovative and suitable financial solutions for the financially underserved segment. 

D91 Labs Idea Series—#2 Sonal Agrawal

Sure you need money to do things, but thinking about personal development is also important and money is not the only factor that comes into play.


#16 Mary | Carving out a niche for herself

To be honest, in the initial phase of my journey a lot of people have tried to fool me for the simple reason that I am a woman.


#15 Dimple | Inspiring hope for rural business women

Kumar Shailabh, the co-founder of Uplift Mutuals talks about the mutual model of health financing in the first-ever collaboration under the D91 Labs Idea Series!

D91 Labs Idea Series—#1 Kumar Shailabh

In order to be able to move forward with finances, it is important to be able to trust the system or the person who is willing to guide you.


#14 Deeksha | Credit in the time of Covid-19

We have parsed through the All India Debt and Investment Survey (2019) to map where Indians stand in terms of accessing and using financial products and services.

Financial report card of the people of India (Assets)

Whenever I want to make an investment, I talk to my husband as he is very supportive or even my father-in-law sometimes because according to me male members have a lot of knowledge about these things.


#13 Priya | Tailoring her financial future

We hosted a webinar on women’s financial inclusion by bringing together the experience of 6 women working at the intersection of finance, tech & research for women. Here’s our final learnings!


Insights from banking on women project

Women are buyers, they cannot be sold to!

The general financial advice anybody would give you is to have six months worth of your salary in liquid cash, but that is not the case for me.


#12 Anjali | Coping with a chequered life

We hosted a webinar on women’s financial inclusion by bringing together the experience of 6 women working at the intersection of finance, tech & research for women. Here’s part 2 of our key learnings!


Every woman entrepreneur without exception has had to have jugaad to get her legs off the ground!

I invest to have a better lifestyle. I am trying to stabilize my career as I want to become financially independent and early retirement is an aspiration for me.


#11 Pragati | Investing in a brighter future

We hosted a webinar on women’s financial inclusion by bringing together the experience of 6 women working at the intersection of finance, tech & research for women. Here’s part 1 of our key learnings!


Good girls don't talk about money!

I believe that in case an emergency arises, we should be in a financially stable position to fight that. I never want to be in a situation where I have to go to someone else and ask for money.


#10 Zainab | Building structures to building narratives

So what happens in villages is that people really try to fool you when you are a woman and think that you don't understand what has to be done in terms of financial matters.


#9 Anupama | From being digital first to digitizing other women

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, this webinar looks at women’s access to and usage of traditional / digital financial products and services.

International Women’s Day webinar

In my house, though I am the most comfortable with digital payments, somewhere my decision-making becomes weak when it comes to financial matters because I have been dependent on my husband till now.

#8 Bhakti | Re-entering the workforce after 12 years

Allwin Williams

The digital financial inclusion for low value, high volume vendors


Designing inclusive solutions for securing the financial future of a kirana wallah

If my parents hadn’t told me the importance of investing, I probably wouldn’t have started. Having a service that increases awareness about finances will definitely benefit everyone.

#7 Sandhya | From IT to agri-entrepreneurship

D91 Labs

Join us on an insightful discussion on the many facets of a woman’s financial and entrepreneurship journey.


Moving from access to usage—Making formal finance work for women

Not everybody is from the banking sector, so a platform to help bridge the financial knowledge gap will make it much easier for the masses to grasp things without feeling like we are lacking.


#6 Preksha | Investing in kids, at home and at work

Initially, most of my investments were for my children, but now they're old enough and don't need it. Since that money and my Guwahati flat rent had accumulated, my brother suggested that I invest it.


#5 Ritika | From teaching kids to learning business

Vishal Ramprasad

Exploring the needs of mobility participants from insurance products!


Auto-rickshaw wallahs and insurance – investing in a digital future

Initially, it hurts to pay for investments every month because that money cannot be used for other things, but eventually when you see your money grow, it feels great.


#4 Bhavana | One Mandala at a time

For me, trust and confidence in the institution is of utmost importance when taking financial decisions such as loans because there are a lot of swindlers who try to extract money from a debtor.

#3 Susan

As solo entrepreneurs, we should always fix the cost of our effort because if we were to hire somebody else, they would have also taken their share.


#2 Tara

Anurag Gupta

Sumanth Suri

The trucking industry in India has a sizeable untapped opportunity i.e. access to short-term credit for truck drivers. This blog explores how FASTag infrastructure can help to solve this problem.

Credit for truck drivers using FASTag information - an opportunity

In my life, I have learned the hard way about the value of financial knowledge and so I am educating my daughter about finances at a young age itself.


#1 Rachana

Introducing a series chronicling the financial journeys of the women of Bharat


The final blog of our 3 part series. In this piece, we discuss some insights on Covid, fintech and the goal of financial inclusion.

Covid and fintech

Covid-19 pandemic and the Fintech industry — Key takeaways: Part 3

The second blog of our 3 part series. In this, we discuss the fintech industry’s commitment to expanding business through new customers, new products, and reimagined services.

Covid-19 pandemic and the Fintech industry — Key takeaways: Part 2

The first blog of our 3 part series. In this, we discuss the fintech industry’s commitment to expanding business through new customers, new products, and reimagined services.

Covid-19 pandemic and the Fintech industry — Key takeaways: Part 1

An introduction to the “Covid and Fintech Industry” series, that present key takeaways from our research through existing literature on this subject and interaction with members of the fintech community.

Covid-19 pandemic and the Fintech industry — An introduction

Neha Beri

Serving rural India needs better access to financial products. Among other things, they need phygital services, customer education, and suitable products.


Banking for Rural Bharat

Anushri Uttarwar

Atreya Arun

Unpacking the role of fintech in driving financial inclusion for women-led businesses

The fintech call for women-led businesses

How the AA framework opens up new avenues & greater efficiency for MSME lending

Credit where credit is due — Enabling MSME businesses through the AA framework

'Pay Later' products have the potential to provide small-ticket loans to customers who are new to credit or do not own a credit card. Read to know how

Bridging the credit gap with 'Buy now pay later' products

What if we told you that you could live in South Bombay and pay a rent of Rs. 500. Would you believe me? Well, you can. Read to know more


Pagdi rent system — 101

Part 2 — How Indian households can turn their financial dreams to reality.

Securing financial futures and the case for goal-based financial planning

Dharmesh BA

Geetika Shukla

Lakshmi Ajayan

Design principles for data sharing through Account Aggregator apps.

Future of data sharing

Designing for Account Aggregators

What Jigneshbhai's daily life and activities tells us about account aggregators!

'Bridging' the data gap one consensual data transfer at a time.

Part 1—Why do people 'save' the way they do?

Naresh

Applications that empower small businesses and institutions in building a digital presence without detailed know-how in software development.


Can no-code and low-code applications boost digitization and financial inclusion?

Can tech aid in the implementation of the RBI's proposals?

The future of microloans—Part 2

Atulaa Krishnamurthy

How RBI's new consultation paper provides impetus to innovate and places customers at the core of the sector.

The future of microloans—Part 1

How is a standard chit fund product designed and what makes this instrument so attractive


Chit Fund 101

On ground user research conducted across India, to document people’s financial journeys, with in-depth interviews.

Personal finance survey, 2020

Personal Finance Survey 2020 — Insights

Why Indian startups don't distribute F.Ds

India ❤️s F.D and they need a digital makeover!

Soumitro Datta

Naman is a fresh MBA graduate with 3 years of work experience in Sales. He is back home in Bengaluru after finishing his MBA in Mumbai and is currently looking for a job.

Millennial banking

Meet Naman

What would an end to end digital experience using account aggregators look like?


Whatsapp and the future of lending

Hari is a 26-year-old, originally from Kottayam, who works as a Business Analyst at a SaaS company in Bangalore. Hari finished his schooling and graduation in Kerala after which he pursued his MBA in Mangalore. 


Meet Hari

28-year-old Som is a Senior Consultant in the HR Tech domain. He lives in Gurugram with his mother. He completed his schooling and graduation in New Delhi. Later, he went ahead to pursue MBA after 2 years of work experience.

Meet Som — Part II

What does the new entrant in the India Stack hold for the future India?


Account Aggregators and the Future of data sharing

Meet Som — Part I

“To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart.” —Thomas Watson, IBM

Tales of Bharat — Issue #14

“A small business is an amazing way to serve and leave an impact on the world you live in.” -Nicole Snow



Tales of Bharat — Issue #13

Discussing millenial banking journeys in the context of neobanking

Tales of Bharat — Issue #12

An ambitious 27-year-old who grew up in Jhansi and is currently residing and working in Bengaluru for an IT firm. 

Meet Gagan

'How might we help micro-finance institutions to enable digital loan repayments in the times of COVID’

Tales of Bharat — Issue #11

Ratna is a 28-year-old woman who grew up in Pune and is currently residing and working in Bengaluru for an IT firm. Although she is originally from Karnataka, she has spent a larger part of her life in Pune and is more fluent in Marathi than her mother tongue, Kannada. 

Meet Ratna

All about the Personal Finance Survey 2020!

Tales of Bharat — Issue #10

Most of India gets paid based on the hours they work, trips they complete, parcels they deliver or the days they cook. They are the only asset in their business. When they stop the business shuts. Think about it.

In this edition we bring two such stories from the ‘other side’ in our Rural Journey series.

Tales of Bharat — Issue #9

Soumya Mukund

Arpit Paurush

Gauri, a 42-year-old woman raised in a small village near Tumkur in Karnataka, stays in her own house with her husband and daughter. Her son migrated to Bangalore for his job. 

Rural journeys

Gauri — Working at Anganwadi and running a tailoring business

Welcome to our first newsletter of 2020. We started D91 Labs with a vision to bridge the empathy gap between between the fintech developers and the last mile Bharat. What started as a simple blog post back in 2019 is now a small and niche research lab by itself. The love and reception we have received has been overwhelming. We are indebted to this. As we step forward to an eventful 2020, here is a small recap of what we did in 2019.

Tales of Bharat — Issue #8

Apoorva Shetty

Suma, a 32-year-old homepreneur, has been running a home-based stitching business in her one-room kitchen (1RK) home for more than a decade now. Suma’s stitching ability, timeliness and dedication towards work have helped her gather a good number of customers, mostly comprised of local nearby residents and few from the neighbouring areas.


Kirana chronicles

Suma — Homepreneur who believes in a stitch in time

7 years ago when Chang came down to Bengaluru to visit a sick relative, he realized all the opportunities the city had to offer. Bengaluru has been his home ever since. After making it through a series of events, Chang now runs a small momo stall at the heart of the city.

Chang — Taking opportunities of the big city head on

55-year-old Ganesh has been running a stationery store in Bengaluru for 10+ years. He had gotten used to running things in a certain way, making it difficult to adapt. Nonetheless, Ganesh adopted the latest payment methods, like QR codes on digital payment apps!

Ganesh — Conventional business adapting to new technology

Did you know that MSME’s contribute to around 29% of total India’s GDP and are the second-highest employment generation sector in the country, only next to the agricultural sector. This week, we try to decode some of the data around MSMEs for you.



Tales of Bharat — D91 Labs

Seetha and her husband run a small vegetable store in a quiet residential colony in Bengaluru. The 6-year-old shop sells vegetables, fruits and small household commodities. The shop that started as a way to pass time, to keep Seetha engaged has now turned into a full-time job for her.

Seetha & Harish — Fulfilling dreams of starting something of their own

45-year-old Latha is a homepreneur who sells with sarees to her social circle. Being an extremely social person makes marketing a piece of cake for Latha. From wiling time away by reading magazines at home to starting her own small business, she has been able to move from being dependent on her husband for becoming a self-sustainable woman.

Latha — Journey from being a dependent to a homepreneur of a successful saree business

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) form a vital component of the Indian Economy. MSMEs contribute to around 29% of total India’s GDP and are the second-highest employment generation sector in the country, only next to the agricultural sector. This post gives an overview of the MSME sector in India


MSMEs in numbers

Mahesh, a 35-year-old entrepreneur runs A-Z Solutions; a 15+ year old laptop sales and service centre. But, with the constant evolution in Bengaluru’s startup landscape, Mahesh struggles to hire and retain staff.

Mahesh — Coping as a business with competing employment opportunities

51-year-old Prakash owns a an electronics store in Bengaluru. He started by selling and repairing watches in the verandah of his house, and has now expanded to 300 variants of clocks, multiple brands of electronic items like phones and TVs. 

Prakash — Scaling an electronics shop over 30 years

Stree Shakti is a program launched by the Government of Karnataka to strengthen women’s access to financial services and make them self reliant. The program draws self help groups (SHGs) wherein skill access to financial services is provided through micro-credit and savings products.

Stree Shakti Sangha

At D91 Labs we had the most eventful week since we started our lab. Here is a snippet into our past week and work :)

Tales of Bharat — Issue #3

33-year-old Niranjan runs a tea shop in a prime shopping area in Bengaluru—surrounded by colleges, small to medium-sized companies, motorists, and people constantly passing by.

Niranjan — On running a tea shop that caters to a variety of customers

Here we are with another exciting edition of our Tales of Bharat newsletter. We have two interesting stories from our new series to share. One on rural women and another about small merchants. But before that some of the readers reached out to us questioning the objective behind our research stories and we thought we should do a better job at articulating it.

Tales of Bharat — Issue #2

Manjunath is a 37-year-old businessman who runs a condiment store in Bengaluru along with his wife. The store acts as their primary source of income to run their family and fund their children’s education.

Manjunath — Running a small business in an ever changing world

We invite you for an evening of talks and discussion around ‘Designing for Data’ with Dr. Dan Hayden, Data Strategist, Facebook

D91 Event — Designing for data with Facebook

We had organised our first informal event in July and as its extension, we are hosting our second event that aims at bringing together women to talk, share and discuss about personal finance.

D91 Event — Personal Finance 101

Kamala is a 35-year-old woman living in Tumkur with her husband, son and her mother. Kamala’s home is a one room kitchen, which accommodates all the 4 people under one roof.

Kamala — Juggling household chores, leading the local community and dreams of starting a business 

‘Tales of Bharat’ is a bimonthly newsletter that curates and delivers our on-field research stories straight into your inbox. Here is our first issue.



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Inner circle

A space for like-minded members of the fintech community to participate in their shared goal of achieving financial inclusion.

As part of this series, we work with multiple collaborators on anything fintech.

Want to join us?

Part of Inner circle collaborations

Designing inclusive solutions for securing the financial future of a kirana wallah

Auto-rickshaw wallahs and insurance – investing in a digital future

Credit for truck drivers using FASTag information - an opportunity

Banking for Rural Bharat

The fintech call for women-led businesses

Credit where credit is due — Enabling MSME businesses through the AA framework

Bridging the credit gap with 'Buy now pay later' products

Inner circle

A space for like-minded members of the fintech community to participate in their shared goal of achieving financial inclusion.As part of this series, we work with multiple collaborators on anything fintech.

Want to join us?

Part of Inner circle collaborations

Designing inclusive solutions for securing the financial future of a kirana wallah

Auto-rickshaw wallahs and insurance – investing in a digital future

Credit for truck drivers using FASTag information - an opportunity

Banking for Rural Bharat

The fintech call for women-led businesses

Credit where credit is due — Enabling MSME businesses through the AA framework

Bridging the credit gap with 'Buy now pay later' products

A space for like-minded members of the fintech community to participate in their shared goal of achieving financial inclusion.

As part of this series, we work with multiple collaborators on anything fintech.