Leslin K Seemon
| 206 views | 6 min read
Nimesh has had a varied career spanning 18+ years, from being a Software Engineer to leading Customer Success at high-growth B2B SaaS start-ups like HackerRank, Pluralsight, and Branch Metrics before making an interesting transition to head People Success and Talent Acquisition at Jio Haptik. He turned a solopreneur in early 2023 and currently consults start-ups in the areas of Organizational Development and People Advisory.
But it's not just his professional journey that's inspiring. Over the past 11 years, Nimesh Mathur has channelled his passion for making a difference into social investing. Through Rang De, he's supported 300 rural entrepreneurs across 15 Indian states, empowering them with the resources they need to thrive.
Curious about his journey, I recently caught up with Nimesh to delve deeper into his experiences and motivations. Here's what he had to share.
Leslin - Nimesh, you have been a social investor with us for over a decade now. How did you discover us back then?
Nimesh - I found out about Rang De when I met Ram, the Rang De co-founder during NASSCOM Product Conclave in 2012, where both of us were volunteers. Interacting with Ram helped me with an in-depth understanding of Rang De’s impact for rural development and poverty eradication, where one can provide credit at the lowest rates in the country to the people who need it the most.
Leslin - What made you such a strong believer in Social Investing?
Nimesh - Investing in rural entrepreneurs is my way of sending the elevator back down. It's about creating opportunities for others to rise, ensuring that progress is not isolated but shared. One of the philosophies I hold dear is that charity should lead to independence, not dependency. Social Investing, as facilitated by Rang De, is a powerful and sustainable way to tackle poverty.
I do agree that donations and short-term aid can provide immediate relief and I do that occasionally as well, but they often fall short of fostering long-term growth and self-sufficiency. For long-term growth, providing loans at low rates is a more sustainable and respectful way to help them earn their way out of poverty.
For rural businesses, borrowers often have to otherwise take loans from moneylenders and so the family can easily fall into debt and poverty again. Social Investing has the potential to break this cycle of poverty for future generations. When rural entrepreneurs succeed, they can afford to educate their children. This education opens doors to better opportunities, creating a ripple effect that benefits not just one family but entire communities.
Leslin - What would you say to those who haven’t started their social investing journey yet?
Nimesh - I believe that “By lighting others' candles, you actually brighten your own”. For most people, the desire for self-actualization is deeply intertwined with a sense of purpose in life. Giving, whether it be time, money, or energy to someone in need is a central way that we strive to find the true meaning of life.
I'm well aware that we can earn much higher returns than just 6-8% in the public and private markets, but this opportunity to invest in people from rural communities who are always failed by markets and systems is immensely gratifying. And if we don't support them, a majority will have no choice but to pay an interest rate of 24% or higher to other financial institutions.
Unfortunately, philanthropy in India is often looked at as something meant only for the billionaires (people like Shiv Nadar, Azim Premji, Mukesh Ambani, Nandan Nilekani etc) and something one would do when they are extremely wealthy in life. In my opinion, this isn’t really true. Rang De has been creating a paradigm shift in that mindset where even not-so-rich-and-famous like myself have been able to create a small impact in eradicating poverty. Of course, the magnitude will be very different for each person, but that shouldn’t be a deterrent for anyone to get started.
Leslin - What sets Rang De apart for you in terms of trust?
Nimesh - In addition to knowing founders even before I started my investment journey, I trusted Rang De because of transparency in their financial reports. Additionally, I also attended a few in-person events where partners and associated funds shared their personal stories and anecdotes of the impact at the ground level.
When deciding which organisation to support, people often have similar questions. Is this organisation trustworthy? Will they take a big chunk of the money that I give for themselves? With Rang De, I have found all the answers I needed to trust their intent and commitment.
Ram and Smita do multiple Live Q&A sessions every week even now, which I believe is a great way if anyone wants to get more clarity, seek clarifications and build trust towards this noble initiative.
Leslin: Have you had cases where rural entrepreneurs haven’t been able to return your capital?
Nimesh: Out of 300 rural entrepreneurs I have invested in so far, only one person partially defaulted because of loss of life/livelihood before he could repay the loan completely. They don't default unless it comes down to life or death. More importantly, they usually take pride in the fact that it's a loan (6-8% interest rate) and not charity or freebies.
Leslin: In addition to individuals, what are some of the funds you invested in?
Nimesh: The ones that resonated with me recently have been the Northeast fund, The Farmer Prosperity fund, Livestock Impact fund, Artisans fund and Entrepreneurs with disabilities fund. All of these are currently live as well, in case anyone wants to invest.
Leslin - Thank you so much for talking to me, Nimesh. I’m sure that your story will inspire many others to join this movement and help revolutionise credit access for the unbanked, creating a more equitable and prosperous world for all.
Nimesh - Thank you, Leslin. We should talk next when I complete my 1000th investment - hopefully within the next 5 years :)
Rang De is proud to have a community of 10000+ social investors like Nimesh who make change possible in the lives of individuals through a single click!
You can become a social investor today at rangde.in - create impact and get repaid with interest!
