Over the past few years, our team collectively observed various instances about the lack of financial planning in rural Indian households, and these observations acted like triggers to catalyze our interest in ‘finance‘ and its power to empower. Two years ago, some of the members of our team had recognized the problem of the pertinent lack of financial literacy in the youth of India. Back then, they had launched an initiative called High School Investors to increase financial literacy and to enable high school students with useful tools and practices for financing their higher education.
But, as keen observers and volunteers of High School Investors, our co-founders realized that the same solution could be used to empower the underprivileged people, and we realized that the rural population of India faces a much more significant problem of financial planning. We started conducting in-depth research into this problem by reading up on surveys, blogs, reports & news articles. We concluded that the rural population of India suffers from a lack of financial literacy and barely has any personal financial knowledge. They even lack access to essential financial services and have almost no credit availability. It was then when we embarked on the journey to find an effective solution to this critical issue, from which India is currently suffering.
It was shocking to know that only about 1% of the rural people in India invest in financial instruments, and only 0.23% is aware of SIPs and Mutual Funds. This statistic is what was the “lightbulb” moment, and this is how Rural Invest was born. We initially started to target maids & drivers working in our neighborhood and started educating them & facilitating their investments into Mutual funds. Initially, they found it hard to believe that by merely saving small amounts like Rs. 500-700 per month through micro-SIPs (Systematic Investment Plans), they will be able to ensure financial stability for their families.
Now, Rural Invest is ready for nation-wide impact creation through its ease-to-use & intuitive mobile application, which processes E-KYCs in under 5 minutes & allows people to invest in Micro-SIPs. We aim to provide financial awareness to the rural population of India and help them access liquidity in times of distress, making them financially independent & potentially improving their livelihood.
Tarrakki is a SEBI Registered Investment Advisor, and a Bank-Grade Secure Transaction Portal. A comprehensive wealth management app that enables you to strategically invest your money in a variety of asset classes. Tarrakki have made the process of investing as easy and engaging as online shopping or buying movie tickets. At Tarrakki, they are a team of driven investment experts with extensive experience in portfolio handling, equity advisory, and financial planning. We love watching the markets keenly! And it also helps that we get a major rush out of assisting investors with steady wealth creation.
Today, India has the world’s largest rural population, which is yet to be tapped to its fullest potential. There exists a pertinent lack of financial planning in rural Indian households. According to a recent survey conducted by SEBI, less than 1% of rural people invest in financial instruments. Out of 13,697 respondents, only 35 have some formal financial investments, which is a mere 0.23%. Thus, financial literacy is a big challenge for the rural population in India; however, it also plays a crucial role in the economy’s prospects.
We intend to inculcate a habit of saving in our country’s rural population so that they can make financially informed goal-oriented decisions towards securing a better future for themselves & their family. It is because the financial situation and behavior of rural households not only affects their livelihood; it also has a significant influence on the stability of the financial system and future economic growth of the country.
However, the behavior of rural household investors regarding saving & investment behavior is inconsistent and unpredictable because of the lack of financial education, impoverished lifestyle, unstable occupation, and fluctuating income. They are not able to save their money due to these irregularities, and even if some households save, it is usually informal savings in the form of cash, which might pose liquidity challenges during unexpected situations like Demonetization or COVID-19. Lack of awareness about ways & benefits of investing in financial assets leads to an increase in informal savings & investments, which ultimately does not contribute to the capital formation of the country.
Thus, we decided to start Rural Invest, an initiative like Rural Invest which is the need of the hour to leverage finance’s power to empower and tap the untapped Indian rural market. Rural Invest aims to spread awareness about financial literacy amongst rural households & inculcate the habit of saving & investing. Thus, Rural Invest is an effective avenue for Rural India for saving, borrowing, investing, and mitigating future financial risks, thereby also ensuring access to liquidity in times of distress.
A comprehensive wealth management app that enables you to strategically invest your money in a variety of asset classes.
Grow Your Wealth
Naman Tekriwal is a first-year student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, majoring in BBA - Management. He is results-driven rising individual who has participated in several International entrepreneurship and finance competitions, which have shaped his critical thinking and analytical mindset, making him a strategist. He possesses strong leadership and interpersonal skills which allows him to take initiative and develop effective working relationships. He also holds a strong passion for spreading financial literacy in India and has also given a Ted-Ed Talk on spreading awareness for Rural Financial Literacy.
Raghav Sharma is a junior-year Environmental Engineering student and a strategist in multiple environmental initiatives. Patient and sharp, his organizational skills are impeccable. He is the founder of Society for Environmental Sustainability at Delhi Technological University and has spearheaded several environmental campaigns. He is currently working on a study to quantify GHG Emissions in Delhi city. In his freshman year, he has also worked in a campaign to spread Digital Literacy in slums. With experience in initiating social initiatives, he is a crucial member of our team.
Madhav Sharma is an enterprising grade XII student with great communication skills and a strong convincing power. He is a passionate team player who gets the best out of every team member. Always ready to do something for the collective good of the society, he's also The Additional District Interact representative (ADIR) and while working with the Rotary, he also heads over 100 Interact clubs in Delhi-NCR. Being an environment enthusiast, he co-founded Junkguards, an E-waste disposal initiative, with his brothers. Being a national level chess player, he always knows what the next move is. With such a varied experience, he's indeed an asset to our team.
Satyam Mehta is a sharp class XI student with an entrepreneurial bent of mind. He is a kind, enthusiastic and compassionate self-starter with great innovative and leadership skills. He has initiated various social services such as Pravahkriti, a project aiming which aims to promote better menstrual health and hygiene management among females of various ages. He has also started an initiative called Junkguards, which aims at proper and effective e waste disposal. He has a passion for spreading awareness on various topics such as Financial literacy too.
