Finway FSC: Rachit Chawla is Democratizing Financial Services with AI-Powered Lending and Investing
In the bustling business environment of Delhi, Rachit Chawla was born with an entrepreneurial zeal that manifested as early as the 7th grade, when he began lending money to his peers with a strict 10% interest rate. This early experiment wasn't about the money, but about the "feel" of earning. Years later, after a successful stint at Intel Corporation in the UK, Rachit returned to India to build Finway FSC and Alphabot, two ventures on a singular mission: to provide the financial inclusion and passive income tools that Tier 2 and Tier 3 India has long been denied.
Today, Finway FSC operates as an RBI-regulated NBFC and a massive digital lending marketplace, while Alphabot is pioneering emotion-free, automated investing for the retail masses. By bridging the gap between high-finance technology and the common man, Rachit is helping thousands escape the vicious cycle of high-interest debt and build sustainable wealth.
The Finway Impact
- Reach: 5,000+ Distributors across India serving Tier 3 and 4 towns.
- Scale: Servicing 40,000+ active customers.
- Volume: 5,000+ Daily leads with 16–20 Crores disbursed monthly.
- Book Size: A robust loan book of ₹250 Crores+.
Digital Lending: Solving the "Wrong Match" Problem
The traditional lending landscape in India is fragmented. A borrower in a small town often relies on local DSAs (Direct Selling Agents) who only work with 3-4 institutions. If that borrower doesn't fit those specific banks, their application is rejected, their CIBIL score is hit, and a negative cycle begins.
"The problem isn't always the borrower's profile; it's the wrong match," Rachit explains on the ELI Podcast. Finway solves this using ML-driven algorithms. By filling in details on the Finway app, the system instantly identifies the financial institution—be it a major bank, an NBFC, or a P2P lender—most likely to provide the funds at the lowest rate without hampering the user's credit score.
The Finway Lending Engine
- Data Intake: Collecting borrower parameters through a mobile-first interface.
- ML Matching: Comparing the profile against the criteria of dozens of tied-up financial institutions.
- Precision Placement: Directing the file only to the institution with the highest probability of approval.
- Rapid Turnaround: Reducing the lending cycle from weeks to minutes.
Alphabot: Mapping the "Jhunjhunwala Brain"
While lending solves the borrowing side, Rachit identified a "flaw" in the way India saves. Mutual funds, he argues, are one-size-fits-all. A student with ₹1 lakh and an HNI with ₹100 crore are often pushed into the same product with the same risk-reward rational. Furthermore, high-profile defaults like DHFL have left retail investors in fear of misappropriated funds.
Enter Alphabot (alphabots.in), an automated investing platform where the money never leaves the user's own account. "Think of it as mapping a master investor's brain into a systematic algorithm," Rachit says. "It filters opportunities in milliseconds and acts on set-based rules, capturing market moves even while you're at a dentist appointment."
Sustainable Growth vs. VC Hype
Despite the scale, Rachit has been famously conservative about cash burn. Finway FSC was built on a foundation of self-sustainability. "Starting with the standpoint that a VC will come and take care of your problems is a bad starting point," he warns.
By focusing on customer acquisition cost (CAC) and maintaining a minimum six-month runway for every venture, Rachit has built a model that delivers "subtle but sustainable" growth. This conservative approach allowed the company to survive the pandemic—a period that Rachit cites as one of his greatest challenges—and emerge with a scalable tech baseline ready for Tier 4 expansion.
Wealth Creation for the Masses
Democratized Pricing: Alphabot offers its automated strategies for as low as ₹500 per month, passing the efficiency of a tech-driven model directly to the consumer.
Passive Income: Designed to capture 5% market jumps (like the 2019 corporate tax cut move) automatically, providing wealth growth without requiring the user to sit in front of a screen.
The Meaning of Entrepreneurship
For Rachit, the definition of an entrepreneur is simple: Adding value. "If you're not creating a product that adds value to a consumer's life, you're not an entrepreneur."
He identifies his biggest personal challenge as "speed." As a leader who is available at midnight and early morning, the lag in ground-level coordination is a constant hurdle. He manages this intensity through a highly structured routine of meditation, exercise, and 30 minutes of daily reading.
Rachit's Advice: Find Your "Why"
"Don't enter anything just for the sake of it. Your 'Why' has to be bigger than anything else. Pick your niche, be the best in it, and as long as your purpose is from the heart, you will never lose momentum."
The Road to 2025
With a roadmap planned in reverse since 2017, Finway FSC is currently acquiring companies in adjacent financial spaces to build a complete ecosystem. Rachit's vision is clear: he wants his customers to have a single, trusted destination for every financial challenge they face, ensuring that financial freedom is a reality for every Indian, regardless of their pin code.