Companies eyeing rural India to usher in the next wave of growth

Despite rapid urbanization, nearly 70% of India still inhabits its hinterlands. Besides, the urban landscapes are now cluttered with the fast-emerging new brands, while the non-metropolitan cities and towns offer much more fertile grounds and opportunities.

Even though the rural segments have not made it to the popular narrative, in the current age of digitization, the great divide is being bridged.

The present-day brands are leveraging the latest technology and best practices to come up with offerings focused at this burgeoning market:

Aye Finance: Easing Credit Access for the rural entrepreneurs

Aye Finance has emerged as a leader in MSME financing. Focusing largely on the tier 2 segments and beyond, Aye Finance has disbursed over Rs. 750 Cr worth of loans to more than 60,000 enterprises, most of which hail from the hinterlands in India.

Britzo: Helping Indian villages stay connected

Choicest of smartphones galore the urban landscapes and yet, the rural landscapes haven't been equally fortunate. However, the entry of Britzo, the skewed dynamic is set to change. With a dream to empower rural India with an affordable way of staying connecting, Britzo is manufacturing phones for the masses.

Toppr: Igniting the sparks of brilliant students in small towns

One of the biggest problems faced by students from small towns and Tier III cities is access to quality education, from the unavailability of the latest textbooks to lack funds to buy them. Even if they do manage to cross this hurdle, they do not have access to skilled teachers who would explain difficult concepts to them.

ToneTag: Bridging the last mile in financial inclusion

Even though smartphone and internet penetration in India is steadily increasing, only 337 million Indians are expected to become smartphone users by the end of 2018. This still leaves over 300 million mobile phone users and nearly 600 million other consumers unable to utilize digital payments. ToneTag is bringing this last mile in financial inclusion by enabling a completely offline method of payment which doesn't depend upon smartphones, cameras, QR codes, or RFID tags and readers.