ZestMoney named Fintech Startup of the Year at India FinTech Awards 2017

India FinTech Forum organized India FinTech Awards (IFTA) 2017, the biggest fintech demo event in India, on 10th November, 2017 at Mumbai. After 20 product demos by leading fintech firms, ZestMoney was selected as the Fintech Startup of the Year at India. India FinTech Forum will arrange a direct entry for ZestMoney to be on stage at Paris Fintech Forum in January 2018, and also provide travel assistance. IFTA 2017 saw the participation of startups from 6 countries and delegates from over 10 countries. 20 innovative fintech startups demonstrated their products at IFTA 2017.

Ms. Lizzie Chapman, CEO and Co-founder of ZestMoney, said, “We are absolutely thrilled to be awarded Fintech Startup of the year – as recognition of the hard work we have put into building a product and platform that completely changes the way people access credit in this market. The event was really well organised and some of the most impressive names and companies in our space were present. We were honoured to be part of such a professional event and look forward to many more years of supporting the India FinTech Forum.”

Mr. N. K. Prasad, Group CEO at CAMS was impressed by the product demos from innovative fintech startups and said that, “India FinTech Forum  is doing a wonderful job of creating platform for fintech companies and facilitating sharing of different perspectives of fintech entrepreneurs, accelerators, regulators, industry stakeholders, technology professionals. These initiatives will go a long way in growing financial services market in India apart from nurturing India as a fintech innovation center.”

Click here to view all IFTA 2017 photographs

InstaReM, Zeta and niki.ai won Fintech Rising Star Award. Lizzie Chapman received the award in the Woman Leader in Fintech category, while Adhil Shetty was recognized as the Fintech Leader of the Year. The 811 Account by Kotak Mahindra Bank won the Best Corporate Innovation award. The Accelerator of the Year was jointly won by Yes Fintech, India and Kickstart Accelerator, Switzerland. The evaluation framework and the judging process for the prestigious IFTA 2017 was managed by Let’s Talk Payments and Ernst & Young respectively.

Mr. Adhil Shetty said “Today, Paperless, Presenceless transactions are becoming the face of digital finance. It is heartening to see our vision of paperless access to all financial products for every Indian being accepted and validated not just by our customers and partners but also by the industry experts at IFTA 2017.”

Mr. Deepak M. Sharma, Chief Digital Officer at Kotak Mahindra Bank said “811 by Kotak is unique and industry first combining mobile first experience with digital product and instant account opening in an app. Recognition of 811 by Kotak at IFTA 2017 is a testimony that banks are equally focused at business model and customer experience innovation as compared to Fintech firms.”

Katka Letzing, FinTech Lead at Kickstart Accelerator said “”Kickstart Accelerator, initiative of digital Switzerland and operated by Impact Hub Zurich, is honoured to be chosen for the 2017 award and shares the vision of a global and collaborative involvement in the startup and fintech scene together with our partners such as Swissnex India and Techstars Community”.

Mr. Prajit Nanu, co-founder and CEO of InstaReM, said: “We are extremely proud to be recognized as a Fintech Rising Star at IFTA 2017. This appreciation from an august industry body really means a lot as we launch our India-outbound operations. On behalf of the Team InstaReM, I would like to thank the India Fintech Forum and the esteemed jury at the IFTA 2017 for this honour.”

Bhavin Turakhia, CEO and Co-founder, Zeta, who made it to the top four from over 200 startup applicants said,”We are so excited to win the Fintech Rising Star award at the India FinTech Awards 2017. This recognition is a great testament to Zeta’s technological innovations. Our objective is to make the employer-employee relationship seamless and enjoyable. India Fintech Forum is one of the biggest platforms for startups to showcase their products and innovations and we are honoured to be a part of it.”

Heidi Rakels, CEO of GuardSquare, Belgium said, “IFTA is a fantastic event. There are many companies participating from outside India. There are very good speakers for the panel discussions.”

Mr. Jitendra Gupta, Advisory Committee member of India FinTech Forum and MD at PayU said “I am extremely honoured to be a part of the fantastic forum of India FinTech Awards 2017. India FinTech Forum is an encouraging industry platform that provides a great opportunity for entrepreneurs  & corporate leaders to interact, exchange information and come together to discuss perspectives. Many congratulations to the winners.”

India FinTech Forum wishes all the best to ZestMoney, as they will now represent India in front of the global fintech community at Paris in January 2018.

About India FinTech Forum

The India FinTech Forum serves as the unifying platform where the fintech community can discuss key policy issues, and present its views to the government and regulators. It is a non-profit organisation with over 90 fintech companies as members and over 5000 individual members.

On an international level, the India Fintech Forum is a member of Global FinTech Hubs Federation (GFHF), where it represents the Indian fintech sector. Recent initiatives include a series of fintech policy roundtables in major cities, and subsequent submission of feedback to the respective regulators in India.