Mumbai: JPMorgan Chase Bank India wants to expand its startup banking business to include over 100 companies in the next few years as it hopes to deepen its operations in India’s high-growth technology companies.
The bank started its “innovation economy” business in the United States about five to six years ago, and then expanded it to other geographical locations. In India, the business started 30 months ago with about 50 companies.
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Globally, JP Morgan Chase has grown 30% in its innovation economy, a network of venture capital firms, founders and investors, according to its latest annual report.
“We usually focus on companies with $200 million and above. Most of our customers earn $20 billion to $900 million a year,” Chawda said.
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Before the rise, Chawda led the bank’s commercial banking business and he continued to lead. His new role also includes leading the company’s banking department.
He said the bank focuses on technology, fintech, e-commerce, software (SAAS) for services (SaaS) and health technologies designed to be a global company. “We want to introduce early customers of the Series A lifecycle as early as possible and become their banking partners, who want to expand and grow the company,” Chawda said.
Investment Opportunities
India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has always been one of its success stories. As of December 31, there were 157,706 startups in the sector that promoted industry and internal trade promotion. According to consulting firm KPMG, India’s startup ecosystem (ranks third in the world as more than 100 unicorns) provides a wealth of investment opportunities for foreign investors. In a December report, the country said the country’s growing large-scale consumption base and digital adoption created huge market potential.
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Chawda said these companies are experiencing rapid growth, leading to their business model growing, and many are now seeking to expand their products or services products to global markets. They believe that banks with global operations can better help them build their businesses overseas.
“It’s as simple as opening a bank account in a new country, and as the business grows, they will need more capital,” Chawda said. “Their goal is to raise a lot of money through debt or equity rather than through traditional banking channels.”
He added that because some of these businesses are such a new era, investors who understand this segment are more likely to be in overseas markets.
As part of the push to expand its business, some of the bank’s top leaders from India and overseas met with executives in the industry. The bank recently organized two events, with its senior management meeting with executives from venture capital and founders. Doug Petno, co-CEO of Business and Investment Banking, JP Morgan Chase and the global senior and regional leaders were also present.
According to Chawda, the first event in Bangalore will bring together representatives from 10 leading venture capital firms that have partnered with JP Morgan in India and abroad. It then also held a company leadership retreat in Jaipur, which attracted founders and CEOs of 16 companies with a total revenue of more than $7.2 billion.
He said many startups are in the stage of unsuitable traditional loans. He said they may need risk debt, structured debt solutions or offshore financing because the company may operate locally, but the headquarters or holding company can be included abroad overseas, such as in Singapore or the United States.
