About Us
We have a clear focus to build a capital efficient mSME lending business through an asset light strategy.
Our vision is to be a trusted financial partner to the micro and small enterprises in their growth journey to success. We, at ECL Finance, are deeply committed to these enterprises, and over the years, we are honoured to have been a part of celebratory growth stories of thousands of mSMEs across the country! Our commitment to offer innovative and flexible lending solutions and thus bolster their growth continues unwaveringly.
Our comprehensive understanding built through a combination of factors including data analysis, technology adoption, relationship building and extensive industry knowledge have helped us well position ourselves to participate in the Government’s vision to make an Atmanirbhar Bharat whilst contributing and supporting the micro and small enterprises achieve their dreams and prosper.
Rashesh Shah
Rashesh Shah is Chairman & Managing Director of the Edelweiss Group, one of India’s leading diversified financial services conglomerates. With more than 30 years of experience in financial services, Rashesh is particularly enthused about the transformational role that financial services can play in translating India’s vast savings into investments. A regular commentator on macroeconomic policies, development matters, and financial markets in the mainstream and financial media, he serves on the Boards of various companies and public institutions. He has served as the President of FICCI, which is India’s apex industry association and is also on the Board of Directors for the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) as well as the Executive Committee of IPF (Indian Police Foundation). Rashesh has also been a member of several government and regulatory committees including the Insolvency Law Committee on IBC.
An MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Rashesh also holds a Diploma in International Trade from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi
Aalok Gupta
Aalok Gupta possesses over three decades of banking experience, with a particular focus on retail and SME businesses. He has held positions in foreign banks such as Bank of America and HSBC, as well as private Indian banks including HDFC Bank and YES Bank. Aalok Gupta’s notable assignment was as MD & CEO of MUDRA, the nodal agency for the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, which refinances banks, NBFCs, and MFIs. Currently, he serves as a mentor with GDC-IIT, Madras, promoting entrepreneurial thinking in STEM institutions across India.
Aalok graduated from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad after his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering.
Atul Pande
Atul Pande has a varied industry experience spanning more than 25 years. In the initial two decades of his professional career, Atul worked across sectors such as FMCG, BPO, Financial Services and Television. Atul is an avid traveller and passionate about outdoor sports. Some of Atul’s key professional assignments have been Business Director – GE Capital, MD Citicorp – Maruti, MD Cholamandalam Investment and CEO – Ten Sports.
An MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Atul is also an Engineering Graduate.
Biswamohan Mahapatra
Biswamohan Mahapatra’s illustrious career spans over three decades. He retired as Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in August 2014. During his tenure at RBI, he oversaw banking regulation, policy, and supervision. Following his retirement, he served as an Advisor to RBI on the new bank licensing process. Biswamohan Mahapatra has represented RBI at various national and international forums and chaired several RBI committees. Notably, he played a significant role as Member-Secretary to the Committee responsible for introducing a financial holding company structure in India. He was also involved in formulating Basel-II and BaselIII regulations. Additionally, he serves as an Independent Director on the Boards of various companies and was recently appointed as the Non-Executive Chairman of the National Payments Corporation of India.
He holds a Master of Science in Management (MSM) Degree from the Arthur D. Little Management Education Institute, Cambridge, and an MBA from the University of Delhi.
Ravi Rajagopal
Mr. Ravi Rajagopal with an extensive career spanning 35 years working in large consumer goods companies, spent the last 20 years with Diageo plc in a variety of senior leadership roles including group controller for the plc and latterly as global head of mergers and acquisitions. Prior to that Mr. Rajagopal was with ITC India across different businesses in India and overseas where he held a number of progressively senior roles. His overall experience includes working in many markets across the world in both a strategic and operational capacity.
Recent experiences include – being the Chairman of Fortis Healthcare since 2018, where he led the newly nominated Board in overhauling the governance processes and strengthening the controls. Mr. Rajagopal is Vice Chairman and Independent Director of The Peabody Group, the UK’s largest affordable housing company. He is a Director and Audit Chair of Airtel Africa Plc, A FTSE 100 company in the UK. He is a Trustee of the Science Museum Foundation UK, the most iconic Museum of its kind in the world. Earlier board experience includes serving as Director and Audit Chair of globally diversified natural resources company, Vedanta plc ( FTSE 250 ) and a Diageo nominee Director of United Spirits, India from 2013 to 2016.
Mr. Rajagopal is involved with a number of charitable activities. He is Chair of an Advisory Board for a project responsible for building and operating over 8000 childcare centres across northern India; and he is a Trustee of a group of four schools in Chennai that educates over 1,100 underprivileged children at no cost.
Mr. Rajagopal is a Chartered and Cost Accountant, he has lived in London since 1998. He has lectured on Behavioural Economics at the Saïd Business School, Oxford University and Imperial College, London.
Sameer Kaji
Sameer Kaji’s has over three decades of experience that spans industries and geographies. His key focus areas have been growth strategy, mergers & acquisitions, operational improvement, and transformation, to name a few. He has played a significant part in assisting companies in their business development by providing out of box solutions, while bringing resolutions to complex management, manufacturing, or financial issues. In his experience, he has acted as an advisor to many companies such as Adani Group and McKinsey. He has been associated with a gold mine owned by Rio Tinto in Reno, Nevada as a Director, and also led the disinvestment and management transition programmes. He was also the Chairman & Managing Director, RAS Propack Lamipack, which was founded by him and led a 500+ FTE company to a successful IPO (40x over-subscribed).
Sameer is a Management Graduate from Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.
Shiva Kumar
Shiva Kumar served as Managing Director at the State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, which has now merged with the State Bank of India. His tenure at the State Bank of India included the role of Deputy Managing Director and various other positions. Shiva Kumar played a pivotal role in a business process re-engineering project in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, transforming India’s largest bank. He led their credit card project and set up the metal gold business for the bank. Additionally, he represented the Associate Banks on the Managing Committee of the Indian Banks’ Association. In recognition of his contributions, Shiva Kumar received the ‘Business Leadership Award’ from the Institute of Public Enterprises in 2013.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Patna University and is an associate member of the Indian Institute of Bankers.
Phanindranath Kakarla
Phanindranath Kakarla has spent over two decades in the financial services industry has been an integral part of the Edelweiss team for over eight years. Throughout his tenure, he has held various roles, including Head of Corporate Services Group, Head of Human Resources for the Group, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Finance Officer for ECL Finance Limited. Phanindranath brings comprehensive experience in banking, asset management, and driving organisational transformation encompassing people, processes, and technology. His previous engagements include leading roles at prominent banks such as HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, and Deutsche Bank, among others.
An MBA graduate from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, Phanindranath also holds an Engineering Degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
Mehernosh Tata
Mehernosh has over 22 years of experience in the Consumer and Commercial Banking space. At Edelweiss, he has led the digital transformation agenda and built a culture that is driven by data and analytics. He has steered the Co-Lending agenda for Edelweiss in partnership with multiple banks to ensure the business remains asset light.
He is a qualified Chartered Accountant, articled from PWC, and a Certified Coach for Consumer Lending and Banking concepts.
