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From a single-room office at a small coastal fishing village in Kerala to a much-acclaimed Non-Banking Finance Company with branches spread all over India, the journey was never a cakewalk. There were moments of hesitation, and many challenges and setbacks that lurked at every turn. In marching ahead undeterred, lay the wise option.
Getting off your comfort zone is probably the hardest part of it all. When you are well set with a good job in a bank, drawing a decent salary, the motivation to give it up and test your feet in uncharted waters is never there. On the one hand, there was a well-established and reputed business of pawn broking and money lending run by his father. On the other hand, there was a secure and permanent job with all its benefits. Making the decision that he should give up his cushy job to take-over the family business was an unexpected turn of events, but it proved to be the best decision ever.
When Shri. V.P. Nandakumar took charge of the business after his father passed away, the prime challenge was to keep intact the credibility established by his father’s fair and transparent dealings. It was natural for people to be apprehensive about the new person in charge. Initially, people were reluctant to bestow the same trust to the successor as they did to his father. But it was all to change very soon. Being straightforward and forthright in his dealings, the apprehensions of the people were soon dispelled and gradually it gave to trust. With people from even distant locations turning up to place their hard-earned money, deposits started to pour in. The journey of the inheritor of the Manappuram legacy had begun.
Manappuram Finance Ltd. was incorporated in 1992 but listing the company on the stock exchange was still a distant dream as the required capital appeared beyond reach. And yet, the desire to explore new horizons grew stronger. At a time when few were familiar with what the term "listing" implied, self-help turned out to be the best help. Thanks to the goodwill earned over the years, and the trust the local people had in the Manappuram brand, the required capital could be raised without too much of sweat. And then, Manappuram Finance Limited became one of the first NBFCs from Kerala to get its shares listed on the prestigious Bombay Stock Exchange in 1995.
A journey that originally began with two employees and now employing more than 28,000 people, has not been without its ups and downs. But looking back, it was worth every step of the way and the cause of much satisfaction to Shri Nandakumar. In particular, what distinguishes Manappuram from other success stories is that its success facilitated tremendous wealth creation for many ordinary people around him. These were the folks who trusted him and invested their savings in the company’s equity shares in those early days.
The journey has not always been a bed of roses. But the challenges were met firmly and turned into opportunities. Today, the challenge of COVID-19 is unlike anything that we've seen before, but he is determined to take it head-on and move ahead resolutely.
Watch the interview with Shri V.P. Nandakumar below