India FinTech Awards (IFTA) 2016 was organized by India FinTech Forum on 26th November, 2016 at Mumbai. Major sponsors of the event were Nasscom, CII, IBM & ISDI. With Nasscom 1000o startup as sponsorship partner, IFTA was a great success and made it the biggest fintech demo event in India.
Launched in August 2016, IFTA was a well-executed show. Capital Float stole the show by winning a cash prize of 5 lakhs along with various other benefits from event partners that include CII Startup Mentorship Circle, NASSCOM 10000 Startups, Let’s Talk Payments, Zone Startups, Rise Mumbai and IBM Bluemix. Other major winners included BankBazaar as Leader in Corporate Innovation award, MeReal Biometrics from Hong Kong was declared Fintech Rising Star along with ToneTag and Coverfox etc.
After being named as Fintech Startup of the Year, Gaurav Hinduja, Co-founder and MD at Capital Float cheerfully stated,
We’re honoured to receive the Fintech Startup of the Year award at the India FinTech Awards 2016. Our kirana loan app disburses the fastest loan in India with instant approval and no paperwork. This app is enabling financial inclusion at grassroot level, incorporating traditionally underserved SMEs into the formal financing ecosystem. This recognition further confirms the transformational impact of our efforts, as lending continues to evolve in India.
IFTA had shortlisted twenty startups from 100 applications received from across the globe including those from US, UK, and Hong Kong. The judging panel included eminent personalities including Mr. Sundeep Sikka, ED and CEO, Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd.; Mr. Bala Srinivasa, Partner, Kalaari Capital Advisors and Mr. Deepak Sharma, Chief Digital Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Commenting on their victory, Adhil Shetty, Founder and CEO of BankBazaar said,
Paperless is the journey we’ve chosen and the direction the country is moving. This validation of our vision of digital paperless banking by third- party comprising banks and industry experts at IFTA 2016 is very heartening, and keeps us motivated in making the process more frictionless and take the process to a wider audience to help them access the right financial products instantly.
India Fintech Forum builds up confidence among budding fin-tech companies by presenting such awards and a platform to collaborate.
