Growing up watching her mother run a small shop in the suburb of Mulund in Mumbai, Hardika Shah developed a keen awareness of the challenges small businesses in India faced in accessing capital.

With over two decades of experience as a technology consultant in cities like Chicago, San Francisco, Singapore and Sydney, she gained valuable insights into addressing this issue with the help of technology.

In 2011, she founded Kinara Capital that focuses on providing unsecured loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Kinara operates in over 100 cities across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Gujarat – states that account for around 70% of India’s manufacturing output. Shah plans to continue expanding in these areas by leveraging the firm’s branch-led model and strategic partnerships.

“We are strengthening our partnerships to provide tailored credit support through embedded financing,” she said.

Kinara has already surpassed Rs 100 crore in disbursements through collaborations across various industries.