The world of fintech at SP Jain – Dheepak Rajoo (Intake of 2017) shares his insights
We caught up with Dheepak Rajoo (Fintech Program – Intake of 2017) to get him to share his experience at SP Jain with us. He also shared some really interesting insights on the Fintech industry. Read on to know more about Dheepak’s story.
Hi Dheepak, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your professional background?
I’m a Senior Vice President with…well, wait a minute. Our work or designation shouldn’t define who we are. Instead, who we are should define what we do. So, here you go! My name is Dheepak, and I’m a creative & compassionate person. I deeply care about human well-being & the role of technology in our lives. I have been in the banking & financial services space for close to two decades, and have worked with large brands such as ING, Kotak and AXA in various leadership roles. My body of work has been in the areas of Digital Transformation, Project Management, and business IT.
India currently has the 3rd highest number of Fintech start-ups in the world. What do you think is the future of Fintech in India?
India is an exciting place for Fintech companies. As per Medici’s Fintech India recent report, India is home to 3,000 odd Fintech start-ups. I have been closely following, reading and writing about the Fintech ecosystem in India and ASEAN for the past year. Fintech companies have done a core dump on incumbents in India. They have forced them to reimagine business models by putting the customer first and embracing innovation to solve a scalable problem, be it in areas of payments, lending, wealth management, insuretech or regulation technologies, where the action continues to intensify.
What are your thoughts on Blockchain technology?
In my view, Blockchain is more hyper than the hype cycle. I’ve learnt about technology such as Hyperledger, Ethereum and multi-chain in fair detail and find it quite promising. In my view, the maximum value capture will take place in heavily intermediated industries with high fraudulent rates, and where TRX output is a deterrent. In contrast, I think AI will pick up faster and create a disruption far beyond our imagination.
Share your experience of SP Jain’s Fintech and Perpetual Learning program. How has it helped you in your professional life?
The 10 months I’ve spent at SPJ have been unique. I chose SP Jain’s Fintech program over an Ivy league program, which offered a similar curriculum for roughly the same price but with a longer duration. After having gone through the cohort, I can vouch for two things – you will come out with a broader perspective and first-hand knowledge of the start-up ecosystem, and that learning at SP Jain is action-oriented. You learn by practicing, not just with theory.
Personally, the program gave me the confidence to start my own venture. The Perpetual Learning sessions help me stay abreast with the latest in the Fintech industry.
What does a typical day in class look like for you?
A typical day in the classroom consists of a mix of theory, strategy, video lessons, nuclear learning discussions and projects, where we form groups to solve problems. It is a lot of fun!
Which were some of your favourite sessions from the program?
We had many memorable sessions. Vikram’s sessions are always fast-paced, with so much to take away. I liked Prof Chris from the SPJ Dubai campus – his style is that of classic provocation, which made us think hard about what businesses are really built for. I also liked the sessions by start-up founders. There was this one time when we played ‘Bullshit Bingo’ with an entrepreneur, where we were required to weed out all the buzzwords and focus on real things.
Do you have any tips for people who want to become a part of the Fintech industry?
I heard this from an entrepreneur in the program and it has stuck with me since – “If you want to step into the world of Fintech, focus on the basics – that’s where the innovation really happens.”
