Fintech is more than just a buzzword — it’s an industry that’s changing the finance world. With financial services and banking becoming more technology-led, transparent and mobile, companies such as Clix Capital are in the right place, at the right time.
“It’s not going to be a branch network anymore,” comments Anil Chawla, who co-founded a fintech company after decades of experience in Deloitte & Touche, Citibank and American Express. “Everything will be through a phone or laptop.” And despite being connected globally 24/7, it’s not all work and no play for the entrepreneur. He enjoys unwinding with a good glass of single malt, and makes it a point to participate in marathons on a regular basis.
Formed in 2016 after the leaders of GE Capital and AION Capital acquired the former’s commercial lending and leasing business, Clix Capital bills itself as a smart, contemporary lending firm. Leveraging technology and data analytics to support various functions, its scope includes studying customer behaviour, predicting payments and making loans simpler and more accessible. Today, it’s one of the leading players in the retail and corporate lending space.
“I should have become an entrepreneur earlier than I have,” shares Chawla, who became one at 52 years of age. “I would have loved to become and entrepreneur at the age of 40. That was a delay of 10 years.”
Still, the entrepreneur is no stranger to risks, having played in emerging markets. While he’s broken new ground in transparency and user experience, Chawla still thinks that boundaries are self-created. “You change your boundaries, you can move fast forward,” he says. “[If] you reduce to your boundaries; you’ll just be stuck to that. I think boundaries are not broken, they are just being expanded.”
