Post the completion of the merger process by October, the Shriram Group will launch a Super App for its financial products as well as for selling products of its partners. The super app will be a comprehensive platform for purchasing all types of automobiles at discounts, besides accessing financial products, including loans, mutual funds and insurances, said Umesh Revankar, vice chairman and managing director, Shriram Transport Finance Company Limited (STFCL).
The group is in the process of merging Shriram City Union Finance (SCUFL) and Shriram Capital with STFCL to create one of the largest non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) in the country, with ₹1.5 lakh crore worth of assets under management. The restructuring proposal includes the flattening of the holding company structure by demerging insurance and other non-lending businesses.
YS Chakravarti, chief executive officer of SCUFL, said the work for building the Super App has started. “We will be building digital marketplaces at every company in the group and add businesses until the merger process completes. These individual applications will be combined to form the Super App after the merger. The customers will be able to buy products and avail services from the Super App,” he said.
Revankar said the group wants to leverage the 20-million customer base and cross-sell the products post the merger. “We look forward to offer all kinds of financial products and services to the customers. In addition, the Super App will help onboarding new customers, especially from the tech-savvy younger generation, quickly,” he added.
India’s largest conglomerates Tata and Reliance Industries are in the process of developing Super Apps to checkmate the e-commerce giants Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart. The giant banks are also in the race to develop a unified marketplace. Bajaj Finance, another NBFC in the lending business, has already stepped into the e-commerce business by bringing together the partner companies. Fintech companies are also in a close race to reach out to customers through digital platforms.
The consolidation of Shriram companies would help the group to combine the lending portfolio, which comprises commercial vehicle and two-wheeler loans, gold loans, personal loans, and small enterprise financing. The group has general and life insurance and broking and asset management businesses. It is also building a mortgage business. Revankar will be vice-chairman of the merged entity and Chakravarti the managing director and CEO.
