Axis MF unveils digital solution to unlock ₹25 trillion MSME opportunity

Asset manager launches Axis Account Plus, a digital treasury management solution that enables MSMEs to invest surplus working capital seamlessly in liquid and mutual fund schemes

Axis Mutual Fund (MF) is targeting a ₹25 trillion opportunity in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) current account balances with the launch of a digital working capital management platform that enables businesses to digitally invest surplus cash in liquid and MF schemes.

 

According to the asset manager, Axis Account Plus is the first digital working capital management solution by a fund house. It enables businesses to complete digital onboarding and offers treasury management features such as maker-checker approvals, a consolidated view across multiple entities and instant transaction alerts.

 

"There is around ₹25 trillion lying in current accounts that give zero or negligible returns. The solution is aimed at improving returns on surplus working capital while making the process completely frictionless," said B Gopkumar, managing director and chief executive officer, Axis Asset Management Company.

 

Mutual funds have a significant corporate investor base, but it is largely limited to large companies as they have dedicated treasury management teams. MSMEs, according to Gopkumar, have remained on the sidelines due to cumbersome account opening processes and other issues.

 

India has a large base of over 3.1 million active corporates and limited liability partnerships, and more than 86 million MSMEs registered on the Government of India’s Udyam platform. Despite this scale, participation remains limited, with institutional folios in MFs at just around 1.4 million, the fund house stated in a release.

 

Gopkumar said the platform took nearly three years to build, with the biggest challenge being digitising the onboarding process and integrating it with registrar and transfer agent systems. The fund house plans to distribute the solution through fintech partners, MF distributors and direct channels, while also conducting outreach programmes with industry associations.