Banks and traditional financial institutions have struggled to keep pace with the changing lifestyle of Gen X and millennials. Earlier, status in life was defined by acquiring a house, a car, a high-end TV or the latest mobile phone, and banks and NBFCs offered many finance schemes for such uses. Times have changed, and so have the definitions of success. Today, success – both personal and professional – is defined by growth. Today’s generation focuses on improving their chances of success by getting a good education, making rapid career progress, keeping good health, travelling the world and indulging in one’s interests in sports and culture. Essentially, living a life that goes way beyond material possessions. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of organized financing options at point of purchase for such uses cases and there is a wide gap in the market which banks and NBFCs have been unable to fill.
This is where Dili, a new age Fintech, is striving to make a difference. Dili makes organized financing options available by embedding them in the purchase process of merchants. It offers financing options in the areas of education, health, career advancement, travel, etc. The company focuses on end uses in the services area particularly targeting middle and upper-middle class households. The financing options come at zero/low cost and can be availed in an easy manner through a mobile device or web. This instantly makes expensive services from quality merchants affordable for the end customer as they can pay for these services in EMIs instead of coughing up the entire amount upfront in one-shot. This also helps the merchants increase sales without having to discount the price.
In a recent heart-touching experience, Raman (name changed), a 38 year old parent, had all his savings drained out due to the heart surgery of his brother. Living in a joint family, Raman selflessly took on the responsibility of bearing the cost from his savings and gave his brother a new lease of life. However, the 2 lacs he had put aside for the NEET coaching of his daughter got exhausted in saving his brother’s life. Raman got to know of Dili from the coaching institute and promptly used the EMI financing option to pay for his daughter’s coaching. The family is keenly looking forward to having the first doctor in the family!
In another example, Dr. Usha Parekh (name changed) who runs a cosmetic surgery clinic said that, “many patients walk in for cosmetic procedures like hair transplants, laser skin treatment, etc. but are taken aback by the high price. They then gravitate to quacks and avail of dubious services at low costs. But many land in serious complications and others are highly dissatisfied by the poor quality of service received.” Dr. Parekh offers her clients the option to pay in EMIs at zero/low cost through Dili and finds that this helps patients make better decisions to avail of such procedures from qualified medical practitioners.
Founded by two senior bankers – Mr. Shyamal Saxena and Mr. Rakesh Jha, Dili was soft-launched in Mumbai and Pune in February 2022. The business strategy is jointly developed with Deloitte and seeks to offer financial products for hitherto untapped use cases and simplify the delivery using new-age technology.
The payment-in-instalment market (largely focused on ecommerce purchases and appliances, i.e. BNPL and Consumer durable finance) is expected to grow to $ 50 Bn over the next 5 years. Dili aims to help people prioritize their personal and professional goals without letting lack of finance become a hindrance. Dili is a registered trademark of Triumph Technology Services Pvt Ltd and the company is currently bootstrapped by the promoters who have aggressive plans to build this into a Rs.5000 cr (~ $ 700 Mn) AUM enterprise over the next 4-5 years.
Watch the Dili brand film to know what Dili stands for and visit www.dilinow.com
