Leadership & growth perspectives from IREP CEO Naresh Naik

IREP Credit Capital is an NBFC that offers secured business loans to MSMEs in tier 3 & 4 towns in South India, keeping in mind the larger goal of achieving Financial Inclusion. IREP’s founder, Mr. Naresh Naik, is a seasoned professional in the financial services and real estate private equity space having led the investment management funds at Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers. Over a short span of 3 years, IREP’s retail lending operations now sprawl over 50 branches catering to over 5,000+ borrowers and are aimed at propelling the economic wellbeing of small business entrepreneurs. IREP’s mission over the next few years is to focus on empowering these MSMEs and achieve their lifelong dreams through sustainable credit solutions thereby making them Atmanirbhar.

Tiding through Back-to-back Unprecedented Crises

Reeling from the large-scale impact of the Pandemic and the NBFC Liquidity crisis, the NBFC space had been through a difficult period, with borrowers facing a cash crunch to pay EMIs while lenders were hit hard as liquidity had dried up in the market. IREP, led by Naresh, were largely unaffected by this event as the company had shifted its strategy from Corporate to Retail Financing in early 2018. IREP pinpointed the opportunity of MSME financing and shifted gears to retail as a proactive measure, much before this crisis impacted the industry. The seeds of retail financing were sown a year prior to this unforeseen event, and this move turned out to be a timely diversification focusing on financial inclusion of smaller businesses.

Amid the pandemic, IREP’s focus lay on conserving capital and ensuring the wellbeing of its employees and borrowers. The company achieved this through prudent operational measures, employee welfare and regular customer engagement. While the loan book shrunk to a certain extent, IREP undertook an employee and family first approach in keeping with its core value system. IREP extended this empathetic approach to its borrowers as well, by extending the full strength of the Government’s schemes to them, including ECLGS, Moratorium and Restructuring, and thereby educating them on its positives and how to make the most of them.

IREP’s Plan for the Next Phase of Growth

The MSME sector is expected to play an integral role in India’s growth story, and this can be attributed to the recent push by the Central Government which has played a huge part in further strengthening IREP’s belief in small business borrowers.

IREP’s goal is to empower these MSMEs with a keen eye on deepening financial inclusion across India’s landscape. It goes without saying that social impact is a very important part of this push to finance local economies and the company has extended this vision further by focusing on women borrowers, who are now a major part of the IREP family thanks to preferential loan terms offered to them.

As Naresh emphasises further, “We fully believe in enriching lives not just by helping borrowers out financially but supporting their families too. By enabling them to grow and proactively solve their challenges, we have created a path for their future growth.”

Naresh’s Success Mantras to Aspiring Young Leaders

Prior to founding IREP, Naresh had worked his way up in the corporate world having gained considerable experience over the years playing key roles in his stints at marquee global asset management firms like Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley. He is also an active investor in new age start-ups, investing at seed and growth capital stages, and also mentoring these young entrepreneurs.

Naresh’s success mantra is built on three core pillars.

“Firstly, there is no substitute for hard work, perseverance and patience. One must endeavour to strive through and overcome obstacles, without which success is impossible for anyone.

Secondly, strive to be a fair and dispassionate judge of people and of situations. You must back yourself to do this, as your people define your success. It is very important to know the kind of people you should have around you, and vice versa. And of course, you should be able to similarly take a step back and calmly assess what direction to take your business in.

Finally, it is not enough to identify building a team with the right kind of people. You must also delegate responsibility and empower your team. Mentoring requires you to offer your team the freedom to tackle challenging situations in a holistic and unbiased manner and arrive at conclusive solutions to these challenges.

It does not take a lot to start a business, but it does take a lot to build scalability and profitability. Through this journey, remember to keep believing in yourself and your abilities, because no one can build a business without confidence in one’s abilities. It’s okay to make mistakes, as long as you learn from every mistake, and use it as a step towards success in your future endeavours.”

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