Validus Capital co-founder to share secrets in solving SME lending challenges

Co-founder and Executive Chairman Vikas Nahata reveals how Validus empowers SMEs in Southeast Asia with transparent supply chain financing.

With over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience and a passion for problem-solving, Vikas Nahata, who co-founded the one-stop SME business finance platform, Validus Capital, will be speaking at the upcoming Asian Banking and Finance Summit in Singapore next month.

Ahead of this in-person engagement with other industry leaders and movers, Nahata gave to Asian Banking & Finance a sneak preview of his career in helping accelerate the digital financing revolution in Southeast Asia-- and the wisdom he learned on how to solve SME lending challenges.

As executive chairman of the company, Nahata says that his expertise has played a pivotal role in driving Validus’ success across four countries in the region, and especially in confronting SME lending challenges.

“SME lending has been somewhat of a holy grail,” he said. “I’ll be sharing some of the case studies that we have had tremendous success with across the region, especially in Indonesia and Thailand.”

Before starting Validus Capital, Nahata has long been committed to building companies and empowering teams. He was a founding member of Singapore FinTech Association’s Marketplace Lending Committee and served as its co-chair.

“I’ve had the pleasure and the honor of doing it across the region for Veritas over the last eight years,” said Nahata, whose strengths have resonated in how Validus has used innovative approaches in hurdling some of the toughest challenges in SME lending.

When he graces the Asian Banking & Finance Summit panel, he plans to discuss how through the transparent supply chain financing model, Validus has brought unprecedented transparency to the SME lending process.

A notable discussion point he intends to delve in are the global rise in interest rates, which he says is one of the most pressing challenges that directly impacts lending businesses.

“I think the biggest challenges for the SME lending industry globally at the moment is the rising interest rates.” Nahata said. “We’re at an all-time high in the last 20-25 years."

Nahata emphasised that the challenge of obtaining reliable and diverse data sources to create algorithms that assess the creditworthiness of SMEs compounds the problem.

“There are a few pillars of data that we really need to look at… to be able to understand an SME better and to be able to serve them better,” he said as he stressed that the availability and quality of data play a pivotal role in this matchmaking effort.

The industry leader also shared his perspective that the word “SME” needs to be well understood in very specific categories based on country and industry for a nuanced understanding of the diverse SME landscape.

“When you look at that word, we need to break it down...what it really means for that particular SME,” Nahata told Asian Banking and Finance. “I can definitely help in breaking down the understanding within that word… what it really means for that particular SME.”

Looking forward to the summit in Singapore, Nahata envisions the session as an opportunity to shed light on the complexity within the term SME and encourage attendees to be country-specific and industry-specific in their approach to accelerating their success in the SME lending arena.

The Asian Banking and Finance Summit promises to be a platform for industry leaders like Nahata to contribute to the evolution of the financial sector. To learn more about the latest developments in the finance industry, visit asianbankingandfinance.net.