Women of Excellence

For entrepreneurs Mabel Chacko and Deena Jacob, co-founders of Open Financial Technologies, it is a moment of ecstasy. Their venture has become India’s 100th unicorn on May 3 after raising $50 million from Mumbai-based IIFL Finance in a Series D funding round.

Registered in Malappuram and headquartered in Bengaluru, Open was founded in 2017 by Anish Achuthan, Mabel Chacko, Deena Jacob, and Ajeesh Achuthan. Mabel, a serial entrepreneur with over 15 years of expertise in fintech, is the COO of Open while Deena, who previously worked with Tapzo and TaxiForSure, is the CFO of Open. Aneesh brings to the table his product and business strategy expertise while Ajeesh handles tech. Open is the fifth startup with a woman founder/co-founder to enter the coveted Unicorn Club.

Here is what Mabel and Deepa think about the achievement.

Add their happiness quote….

A neo-banking platform, Open helps SMEs automate their business finances by integrating banking with the tools needed to collect, send and reconcile payments, manage payroll and expenses, automate accounting, and avail credit to grow their business.

Add their quote on Open becoming a unicorn…

1. Although it is a moment of celebration, both Deena and Mabel are aware of the responsibilities that come with it. According to them, the key to success is knowing the customers. It is all about listening to their feedback and improvising the product.
2. Currently, the company has 23 lakh users across India. One of the obstacles Open faced has been the digital adoption with SMBs. It has been tricky especially when SMBs were conservative with capital withdrawal – the money and time. According to Deena, Open’s solutions gave them back time, which in turn resulted in widespread adoption of the platform.
3. Now, along with IIFL, Open plans to launch three new products – Open Settl, an early settlement credit offering, Open Flo, a revenue-based financing product, and Open Capital, working capital lending for SMEs – to integrate the SME market in India.
4. Moreover, its joint venture with IIFL Finance will provide Open with a recurring annual SaaS fee per customer for offering tech services to the joint venture. Also, Open can leverage IIFL’s lending book and infrastructure for offering innovative lending solutions to its merchants.
5. Open’s initiatives do not end here. They are also getting into mentoring startups through the fintech accelerator in collaboration with Kerala Startup Mission. Through this initiative, they intend to help startups take advantage of the potential of fintech. The first cohort comprises six startups.
6. They have chosen the 33-year-old woman, Ashwathy, who suffers from cerebral palsy and sells lottery tickets to survive; the 10-year-old Dinesia who dropped out of school to support her mother to sell pickles; and the differently-abled Sreekuttan, a vlogger. Open will help them form a brand called ‘Magicals’ and provide a grant of Rs 20 lakh to develop a go-to-market strategy, branding, packaging, celebrity endorsements, and influencer marketing. That way, it would become a sustainable brand.