Sunil Bhat

Associate Partner

Sunil Bhat is an Associate Partner in MicroSave’s Digital Financial Services- Payments & Distribution Domain. He is a financial sector consultant with over eight years of experience in advising more than 40 financial institutions in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malawi, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Sunil has an MBA from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai and a B.Tech from the National Institute of Technology in Calicut. His areas of expertise include risk management in DFS agent networks, process re-engineering, strategic business planning, financial analysis, microfinance, responsible finance, and agent network strengthening and product development.

Posts by Sunil Bhat

NXTFIN-XaasTag: Technology-enabled mainstreaming of farmers’ collectives

XaasTag is an AgTech start-up that provides a digital, collaborative online marketplace. The platform connects agricultural commodity producers, such as farmer producer organizations (FPOs) at one end and institutional buyers at the other, and enables them to directly sell and buy from each other.

Aggois: Creating robust liquidity for farmers

Aggois is an AgTech startup that provides short-term credit solutions to farmers in India against the sale of their produce. It has identified a critical financing gap that farmers face between the time they harvest one crop and sow the next. This blog explains how the startup has worked to mitigate this gap and uncover opportunities and challenges.

Addressing three key issues of BC agents in India for COVID-like challenges

The network of business correspondents (BCs) has evolved into the backbone of financial inclusion in rural India. However, it continues to face challenges, which were further aggravated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog highlights three key issues that hinder the sustainability of the BC model.

Impact of COVID-19 on banking agents in Bangladesh

On 11th March, 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Given the nature and extent of the outbreak, Aspire to Innovate (a2i) Bangladesh and MSC initiated a study to understand its impact on banking agents. Based on the study, this report provides recommendations to help build resilience to the pandemic.

Not Just Another Startup Accelerator in India: How the Financial Inclusion Lab is Shining a Light on Underserved Customers

This blog talks about the Financial Inclusion Lab accelerator program, which is supported by some of the largest philanthropic organizations across the world – Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, J.P. Morgan, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, MetLife Foundation and Omidyar Network.

Weathering a Perfect Storm – Part 2: Seven Ways Fintechs Can Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic

This blog covers the diverse strategies of FinTechs both big and small to adapt to the situation and overcome the challenges brought forth by the pandemic.

Weathering a Perfect Storm – Part 1: The Challenges Facing Fintechs in Emerging Markets During COVID-19

This blog covers the challenges and opportunities born from the COVID-19 pandemic, for both small and established FinTechs, particularly in the emerging markets. It sets the stage for part two, where we discuss how these FinTechs face these unprecedented challenges.

Survival tips for start-ups—taking a leaf out of Bear Grylls’ book

As COVID-19 has pushed the start-up world into chaos, many are redrawing their survival strategy to deal with an unprecedented pandemic. This blog draws key lessons from survivalist Bear Grylls for start-ups to tide over these wild and uncharted times of crisis.