From The Gullies Of Banaras To Envisioning India’s Leading SME Credit Business – Story Of A Finance Whizz

India has been a nation of small towns and villages – even today, the second most populated country in the world has only a few metro cities one can count on fingers. A large section of India’s population doesn’t get the exposure to shine in the corporate world, restricting them the opportunities despite possessing ample talent. Stories of individuals emerging from the small towns and villages to rise high in the corporate world are the rays of hope for millions of youngsters living in non-metro India. The tale of Shachindra Nath of U GRO Capital is an ideal example for individuals longing to make it big in corporate India.

Shachindra belongs to the historic city of Banaras – one of the oldest yet a small-town in India. He completed his LLB from the famous BHU (Banaras Hindu University) with a University Level Rank and started working with the carpet industry. His stint started as a trainee in the carpet industry and made him travel across the nation, especially in rural India. After working in the carpet industry for several years, he switched to the finance industry, then unaware of the the legacy he was to create.

Dedication and hard work are the qualities that help people in all trades – Shachindra never lacked these core qualities. His ability to quickly grasp new skills and utilize them in a composed manner helped him climb the corporate ladder quickly. During his career as an employee, he
served numerous companies at different managerial levels to have finally served Religare Enterprise Limited as the Group CEO. Shachindra looked after extremely crucial responsibilities for his companies that included major milestones of setting up Insurance Companies, Asset Management, NBFC, and facilitating several JVs.

In 2015, Shachindra finally decided to become an entrepreneur and utilize his precious knowledge and experience to solve the problem of SME credit in India. But instead of taking the usual route of starting a company from scratch, he applied his knowledge and skills to buyout
‘Chokhani Securities Limited’ from a total of five companies on the platter. This move helped him save a few years needed for the initial building of a company. ‘Chokhani Securities’ was a listed NBFC company with a clean record.

“I wanted to illustrate the fact that, not only a capitalist but a knowledgeable, experienced and a hardworking individual can build a successful business and sizeable institution, with my personal experience I concluded that success of financial institutions lies in platforms which are capitalized institutionally and governed independently,”  Shachindra told KenFolios

After the acquisition of Chokhani Securities, Shachindra rebranded the company with a new management team and business model, to U GRO Capital – a company with a vision to solve the credit problem for India’s SME sector. Shachindra’s three-decade experience in the industry converted in brand value for his new project, and the company soon raised a momentous capital of INR 9500 million. U GRO Capital intends to solve the credit problem of the SME sector that contributes quintessentially to India’s GDP.

“Having learned it on the ground in rural and semi-urban areas, I realized that the credit gap faced by small businesses is not being solved effectively. With U GRO Capital, I envisioned creating a platform possessing a heart and soul for solving the problem of credit in India. It is a culmination of diversified financial services’ experience, my upbringing, and roots to small towns in India, which gave me the confidence and courage to plunge into this venture,”  Shachindra to KenFolios.

U GRO Capital is focused on Healthcare, Education, Chemicals, Food Processing/FMCG, Printing & Packaging, Electrical Equipment Components, Light Engineering, and Micro SME Segments. Through U GRO Capital, Shachindra is committed to building an organization driven by knowledge, technology, and flawless governance.

“Being closely associated with the financial industry for a long time, I realized that the major reason for the failure of financial institutions is governance. Hence while building U GRO Capital, we put a greater emphasis on governance, evident from its BSE-listed format, capital raised from institutional investors and our distinctive governance framework in the company’s Article of Association.”

For someone to have started from a small town and consistently performed at different stages of his career, someone to have mustered years of experience and unbelievably climbed up the ladder of the corporate world – to have quit at a very fulfilling position and started a company that solves a crucial problem for the nation, Shachindra’s journey is an unprecedented example for millions of youngsters in India.