At WeRize, we are creating a new category in the Indian financial services space. We are building India’s first socially distributed full-stack fintech platform for middle-class families in Tier 2-4 cities. The financial needs of small-city India have been largely underserved since traditional players and even fintechs are unable to properly serve this segment. WeRize is a full-stack provider, both manufacturing and distributing a wide portfolio of customized credit, insurance, and savings products for 300 million individuals spread across the 4,000+ Tier 2 to Tier 4 towns. This $200 billion market expects a very different product set as well as distribution model, which traditional private banks, insurers, and mutual fund companies are unable to provide. The economics of these products, as well as operating in small cities for traditional companies, is unfeasible due to their high-cost branch-based distribution model. Families in small towns require high-touch sales and after-sales service, which can only be profitably provided using a social distribution model. The entire Indian fintech ecosystem is geared towards building DIY apps that help customers choose the right financial products for themselves. However, this approach doesn’t work for small-town families as they need high-touch sales and after-sales. Additionally, due to lower ticket size and conversions versus Tier 1 city millennial customers, digital CAC unit economics don’t work, leading to fintechs staying away from this superb segment. Using the “Social Shopify of Finance” platform, WeRize has enabled thousands of financially literate freelancers in 1,000+ cities to sell its financial products in their social circle. This solves trust issues as well as provides high-touch sales and after-sales. WeRize is the only Indian fintech platform and financial services player that has been able to distribute financial services through freelancers without any of its own feet-on-street or local branches. Our freelancers in 1,000+ cities are managed only through WeRize's proprietary tech platform. This enables superb scalability and low CAC and operating costs, leading to a highly profitable business model.
