FinTech For Scaling: How Indian Startups Can Grow Beyond Borders

India boasts the third largest startup ecosystem in the world only after the US and China. It is also becoming one of the key contributors to the economy through its revenue, funding, and job creation. India today has over 99,000 registered startups along with 108 unicorns, which exhibits a significant rise after its humble beginnings in the 2000s. These numbers are likely to swell to 180,000 startups by 2030, as per the State of Indian Startup Ecosystem Report 2023. The report also claims that nearly 5,300 Indian startups have raised a total of $141 Bn, which goes on to show the stable growth rate of the Indian startup economy.

The funding for Indian startups has slowed down due to global inflation and complexities in valuations in a phenomenon called Funding Winter. In such a scenario, FinTech solutions for Indian startups are powering their aspirations to expand internationally.

In this article, we will delve into how FinTech solutions can help Indian startups scale their operations.

Factors that drive the growth of Indian startups

Without taking away anything from the entrepreneurs and inventive business owners, the growth of Indian startups has been powered by the entire value system created to foster new-age business setups. Let’s explore some of the key factors driving the Indian startup ecosystem.

Support from government: The government has been designing new schemes and initiatives like Make in India and Digital India to facilitate ease of business for entrepreneurs and new business owners.

Growing demand: The demand for new products or services has been exponential growth due to the increase of the standard of living across classes.

Access to talent: More than 65% of the Indian population is below the age of 35 years, giving companies access to a large talent pool across disciplines like engineering.

Advancement in technologies: Technological advancements like AI/ML and cloud computing have given entrepreneurs the superpower to transform their businesses. 

Access to funds: With Indian startups proving their competence time and again, they are attracting funds from both domestic and foreign investors.

However, with the current funding winter phase, startups are finding it challenging to attract funding. This has led to the growth in demand for FinTech solutions for Indian startups.

Role of FinTechs in Helping Startups Expand Beyond Borders

“The emergence of any major global power has always been preceded by the establishment of an innovative financial sector,” said Professor of Economics, Richard Sylla. It rings true for the Indian startup economy. The FinTech industry has seen tremendous growth in recent years, which is now leading the growth strategies of Indian startups. Below are some of the ways FinTech solutions can help Indian startups.

Financial freedom and inclusion

Indian startups that begin in rural or non-metro cities find it challenging to access financial services with traditional banking institutions. For these entrepreneurs, FinTech companies like Zaggle provide services like savings accounts, credit, and prepaid cards. As these institutions are digital-first, startups are not tied down due to geographical limitations allowing them to expand their services across regions and countries.

In short, a business that was initiated in a rural area of the country can start operations beyond borders without having to shift its base to metros to gain financial inclusion.

Access to credit line

For businesses to take loans from traditional financial institutions they will have to go through a stringent and tedious process. There is also human bias involved in the assessment. FinTech companies, on the other hand, make data-driven decisions to extend credit lines to startups and young entrepreneurs. Since they rely on technology-based innovation, they implement better evaluation strategies that bet on companies that show promise in the modern economy.

Zaggle credit card solution, ZatiX, gives companies flexible credit options to manage their cash flow effectively. It also provides loans and affordable credit lines based on the company’s financial efficiency.

Facilitates cross-border transactions

Traditionally, making inter-country business payments requires compliance with a number of local and international laws. Most often, it is for businesses to navigate these regulations with little help from the banks. With innovative FinTech solutions for Indian startups, they can seamlessly manage cross-border payments. Further, they offer better payment security using emerging technologies to automate fraud detection.

Access to global markets

Most FinTech companies have tie-ups with global marketplaces and brands that startups can leverage to gain easy access to foreign regions. Aided by smoother payment processing, entrepreneurs can leverage this integration to expedite their plans to launch new products and services into newer markets.

Improving financial efficiency

One of the core FinTech solutions for Indian startups is data analytics to generate market insights and corporate spending patterns. When you use Zaggle’s FinTech services like the spend management platform like Zoyer, you get real-time visibility into your expenditure across departments. You can use this data to plan your expansion in the international markets by making informed decisions.

Conclusion

FinTech solutions for Indian startups have blurred the borders between the countries by streamlining their expansion into newer markets. These technology-based financial institutions empower young entrepreneurs regardless of their background and company size. While there are quite a few numbers of companies that offer FinTech solutions for Indian startups, there are only a few that offer end-to-end services like Zaggle.

As one of the latest FinTech unicorns in India, Zaggle offers diverse solutions for startups and small businesses. Some of them are:

• Zaggle Zoyer: Spend management and embedded finance platform
• Zaggle Save: Employee benefits solution
• Zaggle Propel: Employee and channel partner incentive management software
• Zaggle ZatiX: Integrated credit cards and spend analytics platform

Talk to our experts to see how Zaggle can help your business expand internationally.