MUMBAI:
Aditya Birla Group
chairman
Kumar Mangalam Birla
has set an ambitious target for the
financial services
arm of the conglomerate to be among the top three players in each of its primary businesses –
lending
,
asset management
,
insurance
, and payments.
Birla said this during the launch of Aditya Birla Capital Digital’s new direct-to-customer app platform.
He said that the platform would add three crore new customers in three years, almost doubling the existing customer base from 3.5 crore.
Birla said that the group is now focusing on consumer-facing businesses. “The launch of new consumer-facing ventures marks the group’s commitment to constructing a growth platform characterised by a unique confluence of strength and breadth. Just last month, we launched our paints business, with an initial investment of Rs 10,000 crore. In a few months, we will launch our jewellery retail venture with an initial investment of Rs 5,000 crore,” he said. Birla added that Aditya Birla Capital has emerged as a growth engine for the group.
These ambitious targets have been set at a time when other corporate groups, such as Reliance’s Jio Financial, Bajaj Finance, Tata Capital, and L&T Financial Services, have set similar growth targets.
Vishaka Mulye, MD & CEO, Aditya Birla Capital, said the ABCD D2C platform offers 22 products, including core financial services and ABCD’s own offerings like portfolio consolidator. It also provides payment solutions for consumers and merchants. The platform aims to enhance Aditya Birla Capital’s digital presence by acquiring customers digitally, enabling cross-selling and up-selling, and becoming a full-stack financial services provider.
The strategy to rope in three crore customers in three years includes providing value-added services on its payments platform. Users can make one UPI transaction using balances from multiple banks if there is a shortfall in one account. Customers can also complete their UPI transactions in low-network locations by phone call. The app also facilitates cross-border UPI payments enabled by the National Payments Corporation of India.