Sameer Aggarwal: Pioneering Electric Mobility Financing in India

Starting his journey with a strong foundation in engineering, Sameer Aggarwal graduated from the prestigious IIT Kharagpur in 2006. He began his professional career at HSBC, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, holding various pivotal roles over nearly a decade. His responsibilities included managing a £20-billion portfolio comprising credit cards, personal loans, and overdrafts, handling credit risk for retail assets on a global scale, and working across 15 countries and six continents.

In 2015, Aggarwal took a bold step by leaving his corporate career behind. Eager to explore entrepreneurship, he wanted to test his mettle in the startup world, seeking to discover if he was ready for the challenges it presented. His first move led him to London-based subprime lending startup, Oakam, where he served as Head of Risk and Analytics for two years. This experience exposed him to the financial lives of the underbanked, individuals with little to no credit history or a poor track record of repayments. The journey from prime to subprime was enriching and educational, laying the foundation for his entrepreneurial aspirations.

Upon returning to India at the end of 2017, Aggarwal spent months brainstorming ideas for his venture. In a fortuitous encounter, he crossed paths with an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer in October. The visitor made a compelling suggestion: “Why don’t you start financing electric three-wheelers?” This idea resonated with Aggarwal, who recognized its potential to not only benefit the environment but also the business landscape.

A single set of data convinced Aggarwal to embrace the idea. At the time, India had approximately 20 lakh electric three-wheelers on the road, yet there was a glaring absence of organized lending players in the sector. With this insight, Aggarwal embarked on his entrepreneurial journey and founded RevFin, a digital financing platform for electric three-wheelers in 2018.

The journey began slowly, with only one loan being disbursed per day. However, within six months, the business started gaining momentum, reaching a rate of three loans per day. RevFin expanded its operations to 15 states, with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand emerging as its top markets. By March 2020, the company was disbursing ten loans daily. In October, RevFin secured $4 million (approximately ₹30 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round from a group of investors, including Dheeraj Jain of Redcliffe, the LetsVenture Angel Fund, and Rishi Kajaria of Kajaria Ceramics.

A year-and-a-half following the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RevFin is progressing rapidly. The company currently boasts a monthly disbursement run-rate of ₹3 crore, with plans to increase it to ₹15 crore per month by March 2023. Aggarwal aims to disburse ₹100 crore per month by the same year, emphasizing that RevFin has financed over 3,000 electric three-wheelers while maintaining a gross non-performing assets (NPA) rate of 2.5 percent. Notably, before the pandemic, there were no cases of default among their borrowers.

RevFin’s backers are delighted with the startup’s performance. The company has expanded its financing network to over 100 small towns with minimal customer acquisition costs. The advantages of electric commercial vehicles over their internal combustion engine counterparts, especially for delivery services used by ecommerce companies, make the case for high EV adoption compelling.

Additionally, RevFin is making a significant impact in providing access to credit. More than 90 percent of RevFin’s users are new to credit and lack any prior loan history. Most of these borrowers are daily-wage earners, and owning an electric three-wheeler presents them with the opportunity to earn more than alternative modes of transport. With no formal lending mechanism available, many potential borrowers turn to unorganized private lenders. In January, RevFin secured funding from the Shell Foundation in partnership with electric vehicle operator SmartE to promote electric mobility solutions among low-income consumers in Tier II cities of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Aggarwal underscores another significant opportunity for electric rickshaws in India: providing last-mile passenger mobility in small towns where this concept is yet to take root. He sees electric rickshaws as a solution to this transportation gap. To mitigate risks in a segment with no credit history, RevFin ensures that all loans are secured. The vehicles serve as collateral for the loans, which adds a layer of security. Furthermore, daily-wage earners take pride in owning an electric three-wheeler, and the fear of defaulting on their loans in the presence of loan collectors adds an element of shame. These factors contribute to borrowers’ commitment to repay their loans.

RevFin’s future plans include expanding its core business by collaborating with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), dealers, and point-of-sale finance providers in the electric three-wheeler sector. The company is also looking to deepen its presence in 16 states. Moreover, RevFin is entering the ecommerce delivery business by partnering with fleet operators serving large cities, particularly for electric two-wheelers and e-autorickshaws. Aggarwal predicts that within a year, this vertical will account for about half of the company’s business, with ecommerce becoming the primary source of revenue in the coming years.