Settled in the US with a handsome salary with a big private equity company in New York, Arjun Ahluwalia decided to give up the life of luxury and comfort.
There are hundreds of success stories of entrepreneurs and their meteoric rise in the country. But some of them have highly unusual stories. One of them is Arjun Ahluwalia. The startup founder found inspiration for his Rs 2000 crore valuation business from an unlikely source. It was his housemaid from one of the world’s largest slums, Mumbai’s Dharavi. When Arjun found out that his housemaid was taking a loan from a private financial services company to purchase a mobile phone, it sparked an idea in his brain.
Settled in the US with a handsome salary with a big private equity company in New York, Arjun Ahluwalia decided to give up the life of luxury and comfort. Six years ago, he returned to his country and lived in a Maharashtra village for six months where he studied the farmers community. He did not return alone but persuaded his friend from college days, an American citizen, to come with him to try and establish a business in the emerging Indian market.
Arjun Ahluwalia was 27 years old at the time. He is an alumnus of Texas A&M University where he earned a degree in finance. He then worked for the Abraaj Group in New York before deciding to head back to India. His business idea involved creating a space where farmers in India can get financed without falling in the trap of loan sharks and money lenders in the informal space. The rural fintech firm was started after a 8 month successful pilot project in states like Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Arjun’s company picked up funding of $30 million in Series A and $50 million (over Rs 398 crore) in Series B round. The valuation of the firm was pegged between $200-$240 million (around Rs 2000 crore in 2023). Investors included Yara Growth Ventures, GMO Venture Partners, and DG Daiwa Ventures. Other investors in Arjun’s firm include Mirae Asset, Blume Ventures and Arkam Ventures.
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